


If the stars should fall

by poisonedapple



Series: Smiles bringing sunshine [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Child Neglect, Children, Cynophobia, Dissociation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Fountain of Youth, Gen, Kid Fic, Microagressions, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-16 07:24:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4616496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisonedapple/pseuds/poisonedapple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After an accident with some discontinued "youth dust," Yang takes care of her team when they turn into six year olds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I will pick you up and we will fix it all

**Author's Note:**

> Titles and chapter titles come from "Gold," by Jeff Williams feat. Casey Williams from RWBY season 1.

“You are a disgrace, Yang Xiao Long.” Weiss stomps into From Dust Til Dawn, her heels clicking. She doesn’t bother holding open the store’s door for the rest of her team. Yang catches it before it swings shut, letting Ruby and Blake through the door first with a chuckle.

“A-meow me, Blake,” she says with a wink and tip of her head.

Ruby passes without comment and Blake levels her with a hard stare before letting out a long-suffering sigh and joining the rest of their team inside.  Inside, the room is bright and wide.  The shelves are clean and not dusty (ha) and the aisles wide enough for them all to fit without resorting to a single file line like a pack of kindergartners.

“You love me just the same, Princess,” Yang calls to Weiss who is up ahead and still yammering on about how it was supposed to be Yang’s turn to keep inventory of how much Dust the team had in supply that week. Yang doesn't see how it matters, given that they are on semester break. Weiss doesn’t seem to be paying attention to what Yang has to say right now anyway so it doesn't really matter.

“I don’t know why I put up with you and your irresponsibility, Yang. It would serve you right if I complained to Professor Goodwitch about your behavior. You are lucky we are on break right now.”

“You put up with her because we are teammates, Weiss,” Ruby pipes in while looking around. “Hey I’ve been here before. When I first visited Vale and fought Roman and met Goodwitch! I wonder if that old man is here… I never got to check back in and see if he was alright. They sure fixed up the shop though! I kinda back-flipped through that window there, but it’s as good as new now.”

Yang ruffles her sister’s hair for her efforts in diffusing the situation, even as Weiss continues her tirade of all Yang’s faults. “– and another thing,”

Yang steps away and wanders off to the discount section at the back of the store, leaving her team to scour the aisles for the dust they need. Some balding man with squinting eyes wearing a red apron joins her.

"Hello," he greets. "Do you or your friends need any help?"

“Hey! Are you that old guy my sister was talking about?”

“Er –,” he starts but she shrugs him off, she’ll reintroduce Ruby and the old guy in a moment but first –,

“Hey, what is this? I’ve never seen dust this color before.” She holds a corked test tube with neon-pink Dust that glitters when the light hits it right. It was originally in a small cardboard display with the rest of the discount stuff.

“Oh, that is the Youth Dust,” the old guy explains. “It has been discontinued because it poses a hazard on public safety. People have been using it recreationally and not as intended.”

“How’s it work?”

"It was meant to be used upon criminals and render them a non-threat by reverting them to age six.” Yang draws her head back at that and raises an eyebrow at the guy before returned her attention to the dust in her hand.

“It lasts for twenty-fours, give or take an hour or two. However,” he says with a firm glance at her, “It is recommended to be used on anyone below the age of twenty-one.” She hears the voices of her team as they come to join her.  
  
“It is the same old guy as last time!” Ruby exclaims. “How’ve you been? Been okay since the robbery? You remember me, right?”

“Hey can I open this,” Yang not-quite asks as she uncorks the Youth Dust to peer curiously at it. The shopkeeper’s eyes widen and dodge between the sisters unsure of who to answer first. Her team has just reached Yang and she turns towards them just as she sneezes right into the dust which sprays all over her team.

“Oops,” Yang wheezes, “I hope I don’t have to pay for that.” Then the cloud of dust dissipates and her team isn't there, at least not the team she knows.

They are significantly shorter than they were and their combat clothes hang off of them, no longer fitting them. Blake’s ribbon has come undone from her cat ears and Weiss’s ponytail hangs loosely at the side of head. She can't account for Weiss or Blake, but Yang is staring into Ruby's six year old face. The dust works. Her teams stares at her in astonishment and the shopkeeper rests his palms against his forehead, hissing in frustration.

“Oh shit.” Yang drops down to her knees at grabs all three of them before realizing something. “Shit, they are all under twenty-one, fuck Ruby’s fifteen! Are they going to be alright?”

Yang gathers her team in her arms, her heart beating rapidly in her ears. She feels like when she was six herself and pulled Ruby in a wagon to find her mom and had almost gotten her sister killed. There is a roaring in her ears, body throbbing with with adrenaline and guilt and nowhere to channel her energy. She has nothing to punch into the ground for this, the usual way she likes to solve any problem that threatens her team.  All Yang can do is cling to the three that mean more than anything to her and try and hold all four of them together.

The shopkeeper closes down the store and tries to calm her down while they wait for the police and medics. He explains that the Youth Dust wasn’t recommended on anyone below the age of twenty-one because it tends to have longer-lasting effects but shouldn’t pose a threat to their health or lives. He doesn’t seem too certain though and Yang isn't pacified. Everything is just buzzing in her ears.

Yang refuses to let her team out of her arms, who seem dazed, when the medics finally arrive. She struggles with them when they try and examine them, til finally she lets herself be prised away.

Distantly, she hears the medics explain that they’ll be dazed for a while and then they’ll be like they were when they were six years old. Their memories and personalities, everything. They wouldn’t remember anything past being six.  
  
“When will they return to normal? They will right?” Her words sound garbled, but they all assure her that they will be. Then they tell her to take them to the hospital if any of them develop nosebleeds, complain of headaches, or if the effects last longer than 56 hours. Yang is not assured.

A police report is filed and then they are told they are free to go. 

They’re given a ride back to Beacon Academy, but then Yang is left alone with her miniaturized team. Yang stands dumbly with her team on the quad where they'd been left, unsure of what to do now. Pyrrha and Ren passing by on their way to meet with the rest of team JNPR is a blessing.

While Pyrrha helps Yang get herself together, Ren sits with the girls silently on a bench. 

After explaining the situation, Pyrrha informs the rest of team JNPR over scroll, as well as team CFVY. Everyone responds that they’ll help out anyway they can and asks if they should come over right now. Yang refuses, because she doesn’t want the girls to feel crowded while they are already so dazed, but it is a relief that everyone is willing to help her and her team. Velvet and Coco insist on coming anyway. They bring some child-sized clothes and shoes for them to wear and they stick around while Yang and Pyrrha help the girls into their clothes.

Her team is still mostly unresponsive, but Ruby’s eyes light up a bit when Yang pulls out the small red hoodie. Velvet must have picked out for her specially for her sister. It is a bit too large and flaps over Ruby’s hands, but Yang rolls the sleeves up around her sister's wrists and it fits well enough.

Pyrrha puts the discarded clothes into the empty shopping bags for her. Yang tries to wrap up her team’s scrolls in Ruby’s cloak so they won’t get jostled and break.

By the time they finish, it is almost lunchtime, but her team is still confused and quiet. Despite Pyrrha’s insistence that they all try and eat, Yang takes her team to the small park located on Beacon’s campus. She thanks Pyrrha, Ren, Coco and Velvet before she waves them off, with the promise she’ll call if she needs help.

The park is mostly trees, flowers, benches, and a picnic table but it’s also got a small swing set. Usually the upperclassmen lay claim on the swings. It is empty now because most of the students are either visiting their homes for break or playing in the city for the day.

Yang sits silently at the picnic table, mulling over what to do next and anxious for her team to wake up from their daze, when Ruby stirs and stares at her for a long moment from across her.

“You look like Yang,” Ruby says like it’s an accusation. It probably is.

Yang doesn’t know how to answer and doesn't have anything prepared to say, so she sticks with the truth. “That’s because I am. Don't you recognize your own sister?”  
  
“How?” Ruby looks equal parts wary and curious.

Touching her chin thoughtfully, Yang considers her options. Yang doesn’t think telling her sister that Ruby is the one that aged down is the way to go, and she is unsure that a six year old would understand.

“I got a power-up.” extending her bicep and flexing, Yang adds, “Look at my guns. Now I’ll be able to beat up all the bullies.”

Ruby looks and then asks, “So now you are my BIG big sister?”

“Sure let’s go with that.” Ruby seems to accept it because she grins widely and bounces in excitement.

This is going to be easy, Yang thinks. She's dealt with six year old Ruby before and she was eight then. She could deal with Weiss and Blake at six too.

“That’s so cool!”

“Isn’t it? But I’m always cool anyway.”

“But you are really cool now! You look so big you could be a huntress now!” Yang smirks at her sister and reaches across the table to ruffle her hair before standing and stretching. Weiss and Blake are starting to perk up and Yang feels like she can finally calm down. Things are going to be alright, probably. Maybe she can even enjoy this, especially if she doesn't have Weiss yelling at her for a day.

“Can I swing?” Ruby asks, pointing at the swing set, “Bet you can push me even higher now that you are even bigger!”

“Er, yeah, hang on Ruby-roo,” Yang turns to Weiss and Blake.

“Weiss? Blake?” she asks. She doesn’t want to leave them alone at the table. “Want to try swinging on the swings with Ruby?”

Weiss blinks and stares at her for a bit before nodding shortly and Blake shrugs. They both get up and follow along obediently as Ruby squeals and dashes to the swings at full-speed. Yang’s relieved that her sister’s Aura isn’t activated right now – Ruby’s Semblance had been activated at age eleven while attending Signal Academy with the guidance of her teachers, the proper way. It had been hell dealing with Ruby at the time and lots of rose petals for Yang and Uncle Qrow to sweep up for the rest of the year until she’d learned to control herself. Ruby’d been a hellion at the time, not that Yang should really be one to point fingers about that – she’d been seven when herself when her Semblance had been activated in a storm of rage over a stubbed toe and caused a lot of damage for years to come. That hadn't really changed, even now.

Still, Ruby’s quick and makes it to the swings before the rest of them and is already clambering onto a swing and kicks her legs to start.

“Come on! Push me Yang!”

There are four swings on the set and Weiss chooses to sit on the swing next to Ruby. Blake takes the furthest one away, leaving one swing between herself and the other two girls. Yang frowns but doesn’t comment and starts pushing Ruby higher.

By the time Ruby is as high as Yang is willing to go with her sister and Ruby is shouting in exhilaration, Weiss is begging her to push her just as high. Weiss is just as demanding and noisy as she was when she was seventeen, but at least she is a lot cuter and cheerier about it now.

“Me too, me too, Yang! I want to go even higher than Ruby!” Weiss is shrill, but she adds, “Please, please, please!”

So Yang obliges and pushes both girls at once and they shriek with glee whenever their momentum brings them higher. They kick their legs, trying to beat each other to see who can get the highest. Yang offers to push Blake but she shakes her head resolutely and sits wordlessly on her swing without moving. It makes Yang nervous, but she doesn’t press the issue.

“I’m gonna jump, watch me Yang!” Ruby says just as she starts sailing forward to the highest point.

“What? No, Ruby – ,” Yang cries out as Ruby jumps. Ruby is six again and her Aura hasn’t been activated yet, as Yang'd already deduced, so she won’t be able to heal. Yang's heart hammers in her chest and she steps forward as Ruby soars through the air and lands on her feet at a crouch.

“You jump too!” Ruby crows to Weiss, still at a crouch to mark where she landed. She wants to see who can jump the furthest, Yang knows because they used to do it when they were kids. She now knows why her parents and Uncle Qrow didn’t like it back then. Children seem so fragile when they can’t heal with an Aura. Yang remembers being rather resilient as a child, but nothing compares to the resilience of being able to heal right away like she has gotten used to.

Weiss looks determined and prepared, butYang grabs her around the waist before she can jump as well. “Oh no you don’t!”

“Yang!” Ruby whines, “Why’d you do that? You are being just like a grown up.  Stupid head.” Ruby stands from her crouch and stomps her feet on the grass. Yang gapes at her sister.

“Am not!” she says despite herself. Looking at a six year old Ruby is making her feel like she is a kid again herself, trying to match her sister's mentality. “Come on, let’s go have lunch.” Hopefully food will distract them.

It does and Ruby raises her arms above her head in excitement, “COOKIES!”

She takes them to the vending machine located just outside the park. While there is no cookies, there is enough junk food and soda that Ruby is satisfied.

“I’ve never had food like this before!” Ruby tells Weiss. “From a machine in a little baggie like this. Usually daddy and Uncle Qrow make all our food for us. Mommy used to too.” They’ve returned to the picnic table and Ruby and Weiss sit on either side of her while Blake sits alone on the other side alone.

Yang has never really thought about it, but she guesses it is true that until she’d gone out with friends from Signal, all of the food she’d eaten had been fresh and homemade - by one of her parents or Uncle Qrow. She and Ruby been loved and cared for; even when things got hard Taiyang or Qrow always managed to make them warm meals and snacks in between.

“Me too,” Weiss says. She struggles to open a bag of pretzels that Yang has to help her with. With a shrug, Yang starts opening all of their soda cans for them as well. “My dad usually has a personal chef make all my meals for Winter and me.”

“Oooh,” Ruby says with interest before turning to her snacks. Blake doesn’t say anything and just eats quietly, thanking Yang with a nod when she opens her soda for her. Weiss leans into Yang’s side and Yang is surprised when she glances down to see Weiss staring openly up at her. She doesn’t have a scar over her eye, Yang notices.

Blue eyes wide, Weiss reaches up with crumby fingers and touches Yang’s scarf.

“I like your scarf. Soft and orange.” Weiss pets at Yang’s neck, touching the fabric.

“Oh.” Yang blinks and wipes her greasy chip fingers on the kerchief around her waist and undoes her scarf. She winds it around Weiss’s neck. “Here then, you can wear it for now. Looks cute.” Weiss has got on a cheap cotton dress on, white with yellow flowers, and white flip-flops that are a size too large. The orange of Yang's scarf adds a cute accent.

Weiss lights up with the attention and grins with all of her teeth up at her and touches the scarf. Weiss shifts and moves into Yang’s lap to eat instead. Yang isn’t certain why Weiss is suddenly so attached to her, but it is cute. Plus, Yang can’t wait to tease Weiss about it when this is over.

Ruby’s burping on soda when she notices the new seating arrangements. She stares at Weiss for a bit before declaring she wants to sit on Yang’s lap too.

It takes some readjusting, but Yang manages to sit both girls on one leg each before she looks over to Blake. “Want to sit with us, Blakey?”

Yang might have to scoot back a bit, but she is certain she can fit another, but Blake shakes her head. Her ears are drawn back in their ribbon and Yang worries wordlessly. She had fixed the ribbon back over Blake’s cat ears before returning to campus because Yang didn’t want to out Blake to anyone at school.

When she hears the sound of bags crinkling into balls she returns her attention to Weiss and Ruby. Weiss is staring up at Yang in a way that can only be described as adoring and Ruby is glaring indignantly at Weiss, bag crumpled in her hands.

“My sister! Get off!” Ruby screams just before she shoves hard at Weiss, who almost falls off Yang’s lap except Yang catches her. Her mouth drops as she looks at her sister, whose jaw is set and angry and her hands are raising in fists to hit Weiss again.

“Ruby!” Yang exclaims and grabs her sister’s fist before she can hit Weiss who has started crying. “What’s gotten into you? Stop!” Ruby struggles against Yang.

“Yang’s my sister, go away!”

“Fucking hell, calm down Ruby.” Yang pushes both of them off her lap and keeps Ruby from attacking Weiss again by pinning her sister between her thighs. She sets Weiss on top of the picnic table. Blake watches them with wide eyes and has removed her crackers and soda from the table and inched away from them, ribbon plastered flat against her head. “Hey, shh… are you okay Weiss?”

“You swore!” Ruby shouts as she struggles and Weiss shakes her head while crying. Weiss throws her arms around Yang’s neck and hair which just makes Ruby angrier. Yang stares at her team, one crying, one terrified, and one seething. She is feeling a mixture of all three right now and she isn’t sure what to do. She wipes at Weiss’s face which is getting snotty and coaxes Blake into sitting back down and finishing her crackers while waiting for Ruby to calm down, still wedged in between Yang's thighs.

Once Weiss’s tears have stopped and Blake’s finished eating, Ruby’s mostly calmed down but she is still scowling at Weiss.

“Hey, Blake?” Blake startles and looks up at Yang, eyes darting between the three of them. “Do you think you can take Weiss and go play on the swings or pick some flowers over there, while I talk to Ruby?”

Blake nods cautiously, her ears are less tense in their ribbon. Weiss shakes her head and her hands pull at Yang’s hair trying to hold onto her tighter and refuses to let go.

“I wanna stay with you, make Ruby go away with Blake.”

“Please, Weiss?” Yang tries to untangle her hair from Weiss’s sweaty grip. Weiss pouts and looks at her forlornly when Blake takes her hand and leads her away to go look at some flowers the opposite way of the swings. She can hear Blake talking softly to Weiss as they go. Well at least Blake can speak.

Making certain that their teammates are still within her sight but not too close (just in case Ruby wants to take another swing), Yang finally releases her sister who pulls away after a moment and crosses her arms and turns away from Yang. She sighs and picks up Ruby’s black flip-flop that had fallen off in the struggle. The black pair had originally been for Blake, but the red pair had been much too small for Ruby and the red fit perfect on Blake. Yang picks her sister up and sets her on top of the picnic table to put her flip-flop back on. Ruby turns her head away, her lips pinched together, unwilling to look at Yang.

“Hey, come on Rubes. Look at me.” Ruby glances over at her nickname but doesn’t respond. “Can you tell me what is wrong?”

Ruby shakes her head, but mumbles, “’hate you,”

“Aw, Ruby. I love you.” Yang knocks her forehead against her sister’s and ruffles both her hands into her sister’s hair. “You’re my little baby sister, okay? No one is more important to me than you.”

Eyes watering, Ruby sniffs. “Really?”

“Of course.”

Ruby snots all over Yang’s combat jacket as she buries her head into Yang’s shoulder. “You’re mine. My sister. Not Weiss’s. Blake’s neither.”

Yang sighs, rubbing her sister’s back.

“I’m always your sister, Rubes, but now I am your BIG big sister and I have more responsibilities now. Weiss and Blake don’t have a big sister like me right now, so I’m going to be there for your friends too, okay? But you’re still my baby sis and I’m always going to be there for you, so when you need my attention you have to ask, understand?”

Ruby frowns, “Blake and Weiss are NOT my friends.”

“’Course they are Rubbles. You guys had fun together on the swings didn’t you?”

Ruby shrugs, “I didn’t even know them ’fore today…” she trails off and frowns. Yang rubs her sister's back and sighs. The medics had told her that while the girls were now six, they were not from any specific time when they were six - just a composite. Thinking about what had happened just before they’d been changed back into six year olds would disorient them and eventually give them headaches that Yang’d been warned to take them to the hospital for.

“Hey,” Yang says lightly, trying to bring her sister back to the present. “Ruby, whether or not Weiss is your friend, you can’t hit people.” Ruby grunts.

“You hit people all the time.”

“Well,” Yang hedges, because it’s true. Especially when she’d been eight, which is what Ruby remembers her as. “That is wrong of me Ruby. I shouldn’t hit people, even when they make me mad. You shouldn’t either. So let’s do better together, okay?”

Ruby watches were a long while, silver eyes shining before she finally sighs. “Fine,” her sister moans in resignation.

“Do you think you can apologize to Weiss, the way mama taught us?”

Ruby doesn’t hesitate before nodding. Yang sits back and lets her sister jump off the table and watches as Ruby runs in the direction of Weiss and Blake. She watches them and can hear Ruby when she apologizes and tells Weiss she was wrong and she wouldn’t hit Weiss again. Yang smiles when Weiss and Blake bestow Ruby with a bouquet of flowers they’d picked – technically it was against the park’s rules to pick flowers, but she watches them as they start picking more flowers together while giggling.

Before getting up and joining her mini-team, Yang digs through her pockets to find a hair elastic and quickly French braids her hair. She doesn’t want to chance her hair getting pulled again.

When the girls see Yang approach, they gather all of the flowers they’ve picked together and put them together, even the flowers Weiss and Blake had given to Ruby. They give it to Yang with smiles and dirty fingers. Yang pretends she isn’t touched over their present and brushes dirt off their clothes for them.

“I’ve gotta go pee, gotta go pee." Weiss tugs on Yang’s shorts before letting go and stepping away sending a cautious glance at Ruby who doesn’t notice and is instead complimenting Blake on her ribbon which keeps twitching.

“Um, okay then. Let’s head inside and take care of that, I guess.”

By the time they make it back to the campus, Weiss is jumping from foot to foot and chanting about how she has to pee. They don’t have time to make it back to the dorm bathrooms on the other side of campus, so Yang leads the kids into the closest building. The closest bathroom happens to be right next door to the lecture hall where Professor Port’s Grimm’s Studies class takes place. Yang crosses her fingers in hope that Port is not in the vicinity.

Weiss dashes into the first stall she sees before coming straight back out looking miserably at Yang. “Someone peed on the seat.”

“Go into the next one then.” Ruby is starting to look drowsy and she raises her arms to be picked up and Yang obliges her. Blake hangs back like usual and doesn’t say anything – Yang is starting to get concerned about her. “You okay, there Blake-y?”

Blake just nods and plays with the bottom of her too-big t-shirt, which falls nearly to her knees and almost covers up her shorts. The shirt is printed with ladybugs and she’d look adorable if she didn’t look so despondent.

Weiss takes a while and Yang has to ask, “You don’t, you know – Need help in there, do you Weiss?” Yang can’t remember what age kids stop needing help using the toilet and she really hopes it is sometime before they turn six.

Weiss responds by flushing the toilet and comes out, cheeks red. “Someone needs to clean these toilets.”

Weiss has trouble reaching the sink so Yang has to balance Ruby in one arm and a bag of clothes hanging off the crook of her elbow and give Weiss a boost up with her other arm all while trying not to squash the flowers. She has to remind Weiss to use soap and to work up a sud before rinsing her hands.

It is a relief when they can finally leave the bathroom, though the walk back to the dorm couldn’t be longer. Ruby falls asleep in her arms and Weiss insists on holding her hand that isn’t balancing Ruby on her hip and Blake follows with her head down wordlessly and Yang just really wishes she’d left the bags with her friends to take back to their dorm for her. Plus she really needs to put the flowers in water, because they are starting to wilt in her hand.

Just outside the dorm, Nora pops out of team JNPR’s dorm and trills, “There you guys are!”

“Yeah,” Yang says and tries not to make her smile too pained but it must show on her face because Nora hums in laughter.

“Aren’t you guys just the cutest, look at you!” Nora says, mostly to Weiss who stares at her with unblinking eyes. Sensing their nonrecognition, Nora introduces herself, “I’m Nora and I could just eat you guys up.”

Weiss’s hold on her hand tightens and she shuffles behind Yang and away from Nora who laughs.

“Well I got some stuff for you.” Sure enough Nora has two large plastic bags, full to the brim. Digging through one, Nora pulls out a picture book, “Even got a book! It has a sloth on the cover, isn’t that just the coolest? Here Blake, I got it for you mostly.”

Eyes glancing at both Yang then Nora, Blake reaches for the book with a small smile.

“Thank you,” Yang mouths and Nora waves her off with a grin.

“You know, if you like, Blake and Weiss can come hang in our dorm – maybe build a blanket fort, if you want to put Ruby down to sleep in your room.” Yang’s tempted, but she knows things about her team that they’ve trusted her with because they are a team and for no other reason, things that their six-year old selves will not know to hide. They are in a particularly vulnerable position and Yang doesn't feel comfortable leaving them without her for too long. She has to protect her team, especially now when they cannot protect themselves.

“Nah, I think I got this for now – but thanks.”

Nora nods knowingly and smiles at the girls one more time before tossing her bags in team RWBY’s dorm for her and tells them they can come play with her and Ren anytime. Finally they can get inside and Yang can hopefully drop everything, as she steps back and beckons to let Weiss and Blake into the dorm first.

This is not the relaxing break she’d imagined for herself or her team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fountain of Youth is like one of my favorite fanfic tropes and it is so so hard to find a finished one especially one that doesn't get weird on romance. Anyway I really struggled with tagging... I'm used to calling this trope "De-aging," but um... That must have changed since I was 12 and first starting writing fanfic... When I went through the tag, that wasn't the only kind of fic I found. yikes. amazing how two very different tropes can have the same tags.
> 
> I really hope I got the kid's voices right... I don't want them to sound like adults... But at the same time I find writing people's accents and lisps gets very racist, classist, xenophobic, and ableist... Makes it hella unreadable to boot.
> 
> I've actually had chapters 1-3 finished for a month now, and then I got bowled over by depression, anxiety, illness, and a bunch of other things that killed my inspiration. I usually like to finish a fic before posting it, but I'm hoping that starting posting now will bring back my muse.


	2. I will keep you safe and warm

“Bunk beds!” Weiss shrieks upon entering the room and she releases Yang’s hand to jump onto the bed. It’s Weiss’s usual bed, Yang notes with a smile, and Weiss rolls around on it while kicking her legs and chattering in excitement. With her other hand free now, she shifts Ruby into her other arm while Blake sullenly steps into the room from behind her and sits at one of the desks before opening up the book Nora gave her. Yang drops her bags next to the bags Nora had left.  
  
“This where we are sleeping tonight? Can I sleep on the top one? Can I, can I, can I?” Weiss is standing up on the bottom bunk and searching for a ladder to climb up. Her shoes are still on and Weiss would be so pissed off at her six year old self if she knew.  
  
“Um,” Yang hesitates as she glances between the makeshift bunks her team had made their first day of class. They are sturdy enough that a bunch of rambunctious teenage girls can sleep, study, and play on them but she suddenly has doubts about letting their six year old counterparts on them. Especially Ruby’s top bunk, which sometimes sways on the ropes. Plus they don't have bars at the sides, in case they roll over in their sleep. “Maybe, if you are good.”  
  
Yang deposits Ruby onto Blake’s bed and the flowers in an unfinished bottle of water that she hadn’t bother to toss out that morning, laziness winning out for once. Finally she sits next to her sleeping little little sister to pull out her scroll. She’ll see if she can’t get someone from team JNPR or CFVY to child-proof the bunk beds for her. She sends out a mass message to everyone before dropping the scroll onto the bookshelf between the beds.  
  
“I’ll be good, I’ll be good!” Weiss squeals while bouncing, hands reaching to grab at Ruby’s improvised canopy.  
  
“You can start by taking off your shoes when you are on the bed then.”  
  
Weiss plunks down on the bed and whips off her flip-flops tosses them across the room and smiles toothily at Yang as she does it.  
  
Yang snorts and plants her hands on hips, “You aren’t half as sweet as you are pretending to be, but I like your spunk kid.”  
  
Weiss’s mouth forms a pink “o” as she interprets this before crying out, “Me too, me too! I like your spunk, Yang!” She scrambles out of the bed and joins Yang on Blake’s bed, carefully scooting around Ruby, and onto her lap and circles her arms around her neck and nuzzles. Yang hugs her back, uncertain of what else to do and she feels Weiss’s lips smile against her neck.  
  
Casting a cautious glance at Blake reading and Ruby sleeping, Yang tries to tell Weiss to lower her voice.  
  
“I’ll be quiet,” Weiss promises, dropping her voice to an exaggerated whisper and slobbers all over Yang’s throat in the process. She is just lucky it isn’t her hair that is getting drooled on.  
  
Yang cuddles with Weiss for a while and tries to think of what else to do with the girls while waiting for the dust’s effects to wear off – they’ll have around 40 more hours of this at most (unless something goes horribly wrong and Yang has to take them to the hospital but Yang tries not to think about that) – when Blake’s voices breaks the silence.  
  
“I’m done with my book, can I pick out another?” Blake touches the spines of the books on the shelves and for the first time she has spoken enough for Yang to hear she has a bit of a lisp. Most of the books are school textbooks and the ones that aren’t are Blake’s own books and Yang isn’t certain any of them are appropriate for a six year old to be reading. Regardless, all of them should be too high of a reading level for Blake right now.  
  
“None of those’ll interest you, hold on.” Without breaking Weiss’s hold on her, she gets the bag with the rest of their scrolls and roots around for Blake’s. It takes a while for her to find and an even longer while for Yang to put a child lock on it but she manages somehow and downloads some child-friendly reading material and some games.  
  
“Ever read on a scroll before?” Yang asks, beckoning Blake over to the bed to join them. Blake shrugs as she walks over and doesn’t answer. “Here, I’ll show you. You can even play games on this.” Both Weiss and Blake are quiet as Yang helps Blake get accustomed to using a scroll. She can feel Weiss’s eyelashes blink against her jaw, even after she shifts to silently watch Yang and Blake with the scroll.  
  
By the time Blake’s gotten the hang of it and returns back to the desk to play a game, Ruby is shifting and Weiss stiffens in apprehension and clings tighter around Yang. After Ruby blinks blearily at them for a while, she clambers onto Yang’s lap as well and the two stare bitterly at each other. Yang is starting to feel more than a little awkward being constantly caught between the two.  
  
She’d thought she was pretty good at dealing with kids, but apparently she has never had to deal with more than one at a time. Her scroll beeps with a response and, surprisingly, it is Coco that volunteers to fix up the bunk beds and subsequently volunteers Yatsuhashi to help her. Yang thanks them, before settling back with Weiss and Ruby who seem to be competing in some sort of staring contest and Yang is starting to get the feeling she is the prize.  
  
She doesn’t want to disturb them and potentially start another fight, but she’s getting a bit bored and antsy when Pyrrha knocks on the door before letting herself in.  
  
“Oh,” Pyrrha says, trying not to smile but failing. Yang supposes it would be an adorable sight if she weren’t so tired and in the middle of it.  
  
“Thought I should remind you that dinner is being served in the cafeteria now and you guys really should eat.”  
  
“Cookies?” Ruby requests.  
  
“Maybe for dessert.” Ruby is satisfied by Yang’s answer as she shifts the girls on her lap off of her and to the ground. “Come on then, let’s go eat team. And hope we don’t bump into any professors.”  
  
“I’ve already talked about it with Professor Goodwitch,” Pyrrha says, suddenly looking uncertain. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have butted in, but the staff understand the situation and no, um, disciplinary action will take place until after they effects have worn off. Sorry.”  
  
“Hm? No - thanks, that really helps.” Yang grins. “Probably saved me from even more trouble. You’re the best, Pyrrha.”  
  
Pyrrha blushes furiously and distracts herself by looking at the rest of Yang’s team. They are getting ready to leave and chanting for food, while Weiss hunts for her flip-flop in a pile of Ruby’s books and papers that Weiss had been yelling at her to clean that morning before they’d left. That felt like ages ago.  
  
“They seem a lot livelier, now. That is good, right?”  
  
“Yep. Except they are intent on running me ragged.”  
  
Pyrrha laughs. “Well, my team is always just across the hall if you ever need help.”  
  
“Don’t offer, because I’m probably going to take you up on it.” Yang winks.  
  
“That’s good. I’m glad.”  
  
“So who is ready to eat?” Yang questions and instantly her team is jumping around her chanting, “Me! Me!” Even Blake is joining in with the other two – she seems more comfortable interacting with Weiss and Ruby than she does with Yang and Yang tries not to let her feelings be hurt by the fact.  
  
“Let’s go!” Ruby is out the door first and tugging Blake along with her, while Weiss walks beside Pyrrha and Yang. When they bump into Coco and Yatsuhashi, Yang has Pyrrha follow Ruby and Blake out, but Weiss insists on staying with Yang and holding her hand.  
  
“Thanks for helping with the beds, guys.” Nudging Weiss forward, Yang continues “Hey, Weiss this is Coco and Yatsuhashi. They’re going to fix up the bunk beds for you, so you can sleep on them.”  
  
Weiss bits at her lower lip and glances between the three of them. Finally, she murmurs, “Thank you, Miss Coco and Mister Yatsuhashi.”  
  
Yatsuhashi smiles and nods, a true gentle giant. Coco shrugs, “No problem. We’ll probably be done by the time you finish eating. Shouldn’t take too long.”  
  
“Still, I owe you guys one!” Yang promises as she and Weiss start in the direction the rest of their team had left in.  
  
“Take me out for a night on the town and I’ll call it even.” Coco calls after her and Yang stops and glances back. Coco looks casual, but Yatsuhashi looks equal parts exasperated and embarrassed. Yang wasn’t really sure if Coco was interested in her that way before, though they’d casually flirted in the past.  
  
“It’s a date then!” Yang says and Coco smirks so Yang knows she knows she got it right. Feeling a bit giddy, she makes sure to sway her hips as she and Weiss disappear around the corner.  
  
They’re most of the way to the cafeteria when Yang notices Weiss’s pout.  
  
“Something wrong, pint-size?”  
  
“Can I come? Can I go with you ‘n Ms. Coco?”  
  
“Oh, uh,” Yang stops. It isn’t like she can say that by the time she and Coco get their date that Weiss wouldn’t really care to go along because she’ll be seventeen and not, for seemingly no reason at all, completely enthralled with all things Yang. “I dunno. We’ll see?” Yang finally wheedles.  
  
Weiss seems disappointed but she doesn’t say anything more and releases Yang’s hand, just as they get to the cafeteria and rushes ahead and joins the rest of their team who is sitting with Team JNPR. It seems Nora had already gotten a tray for Weiss, because she slides one in front of her as she sits down between Blake and Ruby.  
  
“Yang look! I got cookies!” Ruby hollers over the din, “but Pyrrha says I can’t have none ‘til I’m done with dinner.”  
  
“That is great, Rubes. Lemme go grab some grub for myself and I’ll be back.” No one had grabbed anything for Yang, which is just as well. All of the students at Beacon tended to have huge appetites, to compensate for the huge toll on their Auras to train as huntsmen and huntresses, but Yang could out-eat just about all of them, even Yatsuhashi who was seven fucking feet tall to Yang’s five foot eight. She grabbed two trays and filled the first with potatoes, pasta, bread, and eggs and she filled her second with meat and vegetables. She is hungrier than she usual was after a day where she didn’t have to use her Aura much - then again she only had a small bag of potato chips since breakfast.  
  
“Woah.” Ruby breaths when she puts both trays down at their table. “That is a whole lot.”  
  
“Mhm,” Yang agrees. Weiss and Blake also look surprised at the amount of food she has in front of her and she grins impishly. “Gotta eat a lot now that I’m your big big sis, little sis.”

Team JNPR look up in question at that but she waves it off – she’ll explain it to them later if they really want an answer. Otherwise it doesn’t matter and Yang digs in, trying to keep her manners about her now that she impressionable little ones that are watching her every move.  
  
“You’re not eating your vege-tables,” Weiss tattles and Yang chokes on a hard-boiled egg while Nora snorts in laughter. Yang grunts, trying to clear her throat and Ruby helpfully gives her back a gentle pat – her sister is a real treasure.  
  
“Yeah, Yang,” Nora hums, “Gotta eat your veggies. Right Ren?”  
  
Nora is such a shit-eater when she wants to be.  
  
“Eat those last. Helps me digest. Don’t worry your little head,” Yang grumbles, glaring warningly at Nora who looks impossibly innocent. She casts her glance at what the girls are eating – Pyrrha must have helped them because they’ve all got vegetables and fruits on their plates. Blake’s got fish sticks and Yang smirks but doesn't make a cat joke for once.  
  
“I don’t know if you looked through the bags Nora gave you,” Pyrrha misdirects smoothly, a treasure just like Ruby. “But there are some extra toothbrushes, as well as a change of clothes for tomorrow. We didn’t get any sleep clothes though, so hopefully you can use some old shirts as pajamas for the night.”  
  
“Great! Thanks, that helps.” Yang says it to Pyrrha and does not look at Nora who seems pleased at the fact. “Coco said by the time we finished here, she’d be done with the bunk beds so I think we’ll go bed right after a bath. So we’re set for the night at least.”  
  
“A bath?” Ruby looks startled, “But I had one yesterday!”  
  
“That is a lie,” Yang touches her sister’s nose, “And ‘sides I shower every day now and so should you.”  
  
Ruby mopes but perks up when Yang promises her that she’ll put bubbles in.  
  
While the kids talk with team JNPR, Yang gets to focus on eating and eats her salad last just as promised. By the time both her dinner trays are empty, Ren and Nora have left and Pyrrha and Jaune are just sticking around to talk to the rest of her team. Jaune seems to enjoy the attention that Weiss is paying him for the first time ever while he recounts the first time he took down a creature of Grimm. Ruby in particular looks excited and Pyrrha looks pained.  
  
“Hey Ruby-doodle. Can I have one of your cookies?” Yang asks even as she reaches to grab one – there are way too many for Ruby anyway.  
  
“Of course,” Pyrrha interrupts just as Ruby objects, “They’re for everyone.”  
  
Ruby pouts and Yang noogies her with a chuckle.  
  
They finish their dessert, all of them thanking Ruby for sharing the cookies who accepts their thanks begrudgingly. Yang walks back to the dorm with the rest of her team and Jaune and Pyrrha, Blake following at her heels and Ruby in her arms. Weiss, for once, doesn’t want to be with her and runs ahead with Jaune and Pyrrha. She glances back at Yang every so once in a while, when she thinks Yang isn't looking.  
  
“Night, night!” Weiss calls to Jaune and Pyrrha, hand reaching for the door to Team RWBY’s dorm.  
  
“Nighty, Nighty, Weiss-y.” Jaune simpers cutely at Weiss. With a dark look, Yang sets Ruby down and waits for both her sister and Blake to get into the door before she turns to Jaune.  
  
“Don’t,” her eyes are red and Jaune gulps, “Use this to get closer to her.”  
  
Jaune makes a small, “yeep,” and takes a small step back just as Pyrrha takes a step in front of him to shield him.  
  
“I-I, what?” Jaune stampers, “That’s – no, no, no. I wasn’t, Nooo. That is sick. And wrong. I can't believe you'd think that -,”  
  
Cracking her knuckles one by one and rolling her neck, Yang answers, “I know. But you are trying to use this opportunity to get her attention and that is taking advantage. Stay away from Weiss until Weiss can tell you to stay away herself.”  
  
“I-,” Yang raises an eyebrow at him and he stops, “Right, okay. Um. Goodnight.” And he slams the door after himself.  
  
“Um,” Pyrrha tries, but Yang shrugs her off, eyes returning to violet.  
  
“Don’t, you don’t need to apologize or defend him. I know he’s harmless.” Which is true. Yang doesn’t particularly dislike the guy, but she can’t say she likes him either and she can’t help pitying him. Right now though, Weiss is six and unable to tell Jaune to piss off so Yang’ll do it for her.  
  
“Uh, right. But uh, about Weiss.” Pyrrha starts, “She is really attached to you right now, isn’t she?”  
  
“Right, yeah – she is.” Yang laughs and scratches at her bare neck. “Not really sure what that is about, but I kinda pissed her off, I think, when we were catching up with you in the cafeteria.”  
  
“Really? I was going to ask about that, but she seems more like her feelings are hurt, not mad.”  
  
“Uh, maybe yeah. That probably is it.” Yang sighs, “But thanks – I definitely wouldn’t have been able to get through the day without you and your team’s help. I owe ya’ll one.”  
  
“No problem, Yang. Good night. I hope you work things out with Weiss.” Pyrrha gently shuts the door after herself.  
  
With a sigh, Yang finally steps into her dorm and whistles in surprise at the bunks. True to Coco’s word, the beds are ready and look like actual bunk beds that she can let a child sleep on - the top bunks even have rails to prevent them from falling out. The books that Blake had sacrificed their first day in the dorm are stacked on one of the desks. Seeing that a proper vase has been fetched for the flowers, Yang smiles. She owes Coco a really nice date for this.  
  
Yang bends and collects the bags Nora had left earlier and sure enough finds clothes for tomorrow, toothbrushes, and toys that the girls have already found and have started playing with while waiting for her to finish talking with Jaune and Pyrrha. After grabbing some of her work-out shirts for them to change into after, Yang disappears into their attached bathroom but leaves the door open.  
  
It takes an embarrassingly long amount of time for Yang to figure out how to make the bath work, because she has only ever taken showers since coming to Beacon. Weiss often treats herself to nice-smelling bath oils and Yang digs through Weiss's toiletries to borrow her bubble bath – hopefully she won’t mind too much. The bubbles smell like lavender, regardless.  
  
Once she has the bath half-full, Yang peeks in on the girls. “Who wants to take a bubble bath first?”  
  
After a beat, Ruby shouts “Bubble bath!” and Weiss shrills, “Me, me, me.” The two decide to bathe together, but when Yang asks Blake she shakes her head 'no'.  
  
Listening to Weiss and Ruby splash around, Yang stays in the bedroom with Blake and leaves the bathroom door open to keep an eye on them, but she is determined to get Blake to open up or at least smile. Blake kneels on the ground, tapping with some sort of child’s xylophone that must have been brought over by Nora, playing wordlessly.  
  
“You _feline_ okay over there, Blake-y?” Yang tries – puns usually are a great way to get a rise out of anyone. “Get it?” But Blake only freezes for a moment before shrugging noncommittally.  
  
“Cat got your tongue?” Yang teases to no avail. “You’re making a pretty good _meow_ -sician over there.” Blake turns at that and stares at Yang with a look she can’t place, but it seems that the cat puns are getting Blake’s attention one way or another.  
  
“You sound _purr_ -etty good, eh?” Yang tries again, trying to lighten the mood but it is the final straw and it finally gets something other than cold dismissal from Blake. Blake screeches in anger and raises her fist as she rises from the floor.  
  
“’m not a cat!” a small fist hits Yang in the knee and then another. “SHUT UP, ’m not a animal!”  
  
Mouth parted, Yang doesn’t stop her partner as she continues to shout and hit at Yang’s legs. She remembers leading Blake around with the laser pointer, teasing her with tuna, and cracking jokes about cat nip. She remembers each dark look and she remember interpreting the resignation in Blake’s eyes at every joke and pun as surrender to puns. Not abnegation of her own partner’s apparent denial of her humanity. “Fuck,” Yang swears as she remembers Blake’s long-suffering look at Yang as they went into From Dust til Dawn, just before Yang sneezed and turned her entire team into babies - basically.  
  
“S’not funny, you’re not funny. None of you are funny. ‘m not a joke. SHUT UP. I TRUSTED YOU.”  
  
Trusted, Blake says, as in in the past. Yang doesn’t even know why Blake or Weiss had trusted her so easily after being turned into six-year olds. They’d had no reason to instinctively trust her the way Ruby did, who recognized her as her older sister. They were supposed to be six and six year-olds wanted to be with their parents or whoever they felt safest with, especially after waking up somewhere they didn’t recognize with no one they knew. Yang doesn’t know who those people were for her teammates, but it can’t have been her. Was it residual memories from when they were huntresses in training together? Or had they imprinted upon her as she’d held them when they were disoriented? Certainly it was nothing Yang had worked for to deserve. And apparently she has been micro-aggressive about Blake being a Faunus for months now.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Blake.” She isn’t just apologizing to the Blake that is hitting her. Blake howls and looks up at her in cold fury. “I’m sorry.”

“’M human. I‘m Faunus, but I‘m human too. Not an animal. We aren’t animals.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry, you’re right. I didn’t mean to – to, it doesn’t matter though. I did. I’m sorry.” Yang slowly sinks to the ground, sitting down while Blake watches with narrow eyes. “I won’t do it again.”

Blake pauses and considers, “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Blake relaxes before tensing again, as though realizing something. “Sorry for yelling and hitting you.”

“No, you were right.” Yang swallows, “You’re so smart and brave, telling a grown up when they aren’t treating you right. I was being mean and you stood up for yourself. Usually you shouldn’t hit people, but this is different and you did good.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Yang affirms, patting Blake on the head. “But from now on I’ll work really hard to protect you, so you don’t have to stand up to me or anyone else. Okay?”

“’kay.”

Yang’d forgotten all about Ruby and Weiss until they both came peering out of the bathroom, dripping wet and naked and covered in bubbles they hadn’t yet rinsed off. Yang has to wrangle them back into the bath as they demand why Blake was hitting Yang.

“Is she in trouble?” Ruby asks.

“She hit you, that’s bad.” Weiss comforts, how own previous hurt feelings forgotten, “Does it hurt?”

“I’m fine and Blake isn’t in trouble.” Yang promises, “Don’t worry about it.”

They don’t seem convinced, but Weiss doesn’t seem upset about earlier now so it works out in her favor. Yang helps them rinses off and gets another bath ready for Blake, sitting on the edge of the tub to keep Blake company.

“Doing alright?” Yang asks, trying not to be anxious.

“Guess so.” Blake isn’t playing in the bath like Weiss and Ruby were, but she does seem interested in the bubbles.

“What was that book Nora gave you about? The one with the sloth on it?”

Blake shrugs and Yang bites her lip, worried Blake has gone back to not answering. Finally, “Dunno.”

“Hm?”

Blake confesses in a whisper, “I dunno how to read.”

“I – oh. Um,” Yang wants to ask why she’d taken the book and acted like she did, but she doesn’t want to pry. She has Blake, her adult partner’s privacy to consider, not just Blake the six year old who looks really upset and embarrassed now. Yang isn’t even sure if it was ordinary for a six year old to be unable to read or not, if this is normal or something about Blake not getting access to education early in her life. There is so much she doesn’t know about her partner, even now. “I took a while to learn to read myself, too, I guess. I’m dyslexic, which means that I have a lot of trouble reading and the letters don’t make sense. Even now, it’s really hard for me to read and write and takes it takes a while. For a while I thought that I meant I’m dumb, but I’m not. You aren’t either.”

Blake blinks, but she looks relieved and Yang feels like she finally got something right with Blake.

Yang helps Blake wash off and puts her ears back into a ribbon after helping her dry her hair. Blake’s hair is dark and cropped really short, black wisps curling around her face, so drying it goes quickly. Blake joins the Ruby and Weiss in the dorm while Yang drains the bath and hops in for as fast a shower as possible for someone with hair as thick, long, and curly as hers. Usually she blow dries her hair in the bathroom, but she brings the hair dryer out into the dorm so she can be with the rest of her team as they play.

Unfortunately, Weiss and Ruby have hoarded all of the toys that Nora brought and are ignoring Blake. Blake’s got her knees drawn up to her chest, while the other greet Yang rejoining them and Yang sighs. She hadn’t expected this, though she probably should have.

“Oi, don’t be assholes. Mama raised us better than that Ruby.”

Ruby’s lip juts out even as she whines, “That’s a bad word.”

“Ignoring your friends is a bad thing to do Ruby. I told you, Blake and I worked it out.” Yang grunts as she drops onto one of the beds and throws her hairdryer down beside her. Without getting out of the bed, she leans over and plugs in the dryer even though she has to brace one arm on the floor. “Don’t be fucking rude.”

“I don’t like you like this!” Ruby snaps. “Mama didn’t raise you swearing, neither! Stop being big!” Her sister stomps off and shuts herself in the first door she sees, which happens to be one of the closets. Yang isn’t sure if her sister meant to do that or she meant to go to the hall and to team JNPR’s, but her sister doesn’t come back out. Blake’s curled up into a ball now, hands clutched in her hair.

“Fine, stay in there!” Yang frowns though – as children and even now they’d never fought like this and it feels weird amd wrong. She doesn’t like it. Turning to look at Weiss, she starts to scold the girl but Weiss runs across the room to fling herself on Yang’s knee.

“Sorry, don’t hate me Yang, I’m sorry. Sorry. I didn’t mean it.” Weiss is crying and Yang feels like there is more going on in Weiss’s mind than she understands. “Sorry, don’t be mad. Don't-,”

With a sigh, Yang peels Weiss off of her. “I’m not mad at you okay? Apologize to Blake and play nice, um, that’s all?”

It takes a while for Weiss to stop sniffling but finally she stands and makes her way to Blake. As the girls talk, Yang attaches her diffuser to her dryer and finally starts drying her roots. She’d thought she'd come to term with what happened to her team and that she'd be able to handle it, but now things are getting messy and unforeseen problems are arising. She’s never really had a fight with Ruby before, not something so big over something so trivial and she is seeing sides to Weiss and Blake that she knows neither of them ever wanted her to know.

Finishing with the dryer, Blake and Weiss play as both girls keep casting glances both at Yang and at the closet. With the dryer off, Yang can hear Ruby crying and guilt settles in her belly.

“Hey, Rubes?” Yang slowly opens the closet and squeezes herself inside before shutting the door as much as possible behind herself.

“Go ‘way.” Ruby hiccups, “Not my big sister. Want my real sister back.”

“Me too.” Tears prick at Yang’s eyes. She wants her whole team back. “I’m sorry. This is really hard for you, but trust me Ruby everything is going to be okay.”

“You keep acting like a grown up. I don’t like it.”

Not feeling like a grown up at all, Yang can’t answer.

“Where’s Daddy and Uncle Qrow?”

“Not here. But safe.” It is the truth, at the very least. Ruby doesn’t say anything for the longest while.

“Did you have to get bigger to be mom? Because Mommy isn’t here anymore?”

“No, of course not,” Yang breaks off as she sobs herself. “Ruby, I –,” but Yang can’t continue. She opens her arms and Ruby folds herself in as they both cry for very different but similar reasons.  
  
“This is so hard for me right now, Ruby. I know it is hard for you too, but we’ll get through this like always, okay?” Ruby shakes in her arms. “You’re going to be okay, right? Right, Ruby?”

Ruby nods against her chest.

Ruby and Yang don’t leave the closet until Weiss knocks on the door a while later.

“Can Blake and me come be in the closet with you?”

“We’ll be right out.”

Blake and Weiss blink anxiously up at her as she comes out of the closet with Ruby under her arm.

“We’re all good.” Yang smiles thinly, setting Ruby down and sinking down to her knees again to whisper in her sister's ear, "Think you can apologize to Blake?"

Ruby nods minutely and she shuffles toward Blake who takes a step back.

"Sorry I ignored you. I was mad at Yang more, not you."

Blake nods in acceptance and they sit in quiet for a moment.

“Well it is getting pretty late, so we should hit the hay.” It is actually just past nine o'clock, which isn't that late for Yang usually.

“Hit the what?” Weiss asks, head tilting and the pigtails Yang’d put her long hair in flop in her face.

“Go to bed,” Yang amends. “Get the toothbrushes in the bags Nora gave you and brush your teeth first, though.”

Ruby joins Blake and Weiss as they get their toothbrushes out of the bags and Yang cleans up the toys, puts away the hairdryer, and manages to re-braid her hair for bed before checking on the rest of her team who have not managed to extract the toothbrushes from the packaging. With a groan, Yang helps them and brushes her teeth along with them. She has to lean over them to spit into the sink, almost spitting her mouthwash on Blake's head.

“Mkay, you wanted to sleep on the top bunk right, Weiss?” Yang grins, already knowing the answer.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Weiss shouts, “I was good?”

Yang laughs.

“Come on then, I’ll give you a lift.” Yang picks Weiss easily up under her armpits and puts her on the top bunk that is usually Yang’s. “Hey, do either of you two wanna sleep on the top bunk as well? Hell, if you guys want I’m sure all three of you can fit on the top bunk together.”

“’M fine down here,” Blake says, already climbing into the bed under Weiss.

Ruby shakes her head, “I wanna sleep in your bed Yang! Like always,” her sister pauses, suddenly hesitant. “Can I?”

“Of course!”

Weiss peers down, watching as Yang peels back the covers to other lower bunk and lets Ruby climb in first. Finally, with a strangled sob, Weiss cries out, “Me too, Yang, me too!”

“I dunno if I can fit on the top bunk with the two of you,” Yang answers dubiously.

“I wanna sleep with you too,” Weiss draws out the last syllable in a wail. “Lemme down!”

Yang considers telling Weiss that Coco and Yatsuhashi fixed up the beds specifically for her to sleep on the top bunk, but it really isn’t Weiss’s fault and she can’t just force her to sleep up there if she doesn’t want to. So Yang fetches Weiss down and Yang sleeps squashed between Weiss and Ruby in a bed too small for three to lay in. At Ruby’s insistence, Yang tells the girls a bedtime story, but she’s barely starting when she hears soft sleep-breathing from all three. It is a tight squeeze, but luckily Yang is too tired to really care and she falls asleep within moments of discovering the rest of her team is asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so maybe it really bothers me that there are so many cat jokes at Blake's expense, especially in canon
> 
> I might also have long, thick, curly hair and be bothered by any story where like-haired characters sleep on their hair without doing anything like you're going to have to spend forever fixing that mess ok don't
> 
> and some side Coco/Yang because why not?
> 
> Thanks for reading this chapter.


	3. Don't worry, I've got you; Nothing will ever harm you

Yang wakes up to four giggling faces breathing in her face and sunshine from the windows. “Wake-y, Wake-y, Yang.”

“Your breath is awful,” Yang grumbles groggily, mostly to Nora who smiles.

“Actually all of us have brushed our teeth already. You are the only one with morning breath here.” Nora smirks down at Yang impishly.

“Ya-ang,” Ruby whines, “Get up, I’m hungry!” Yang wants to say piss off, but she reins herself in and grunts instead.

“Get out of my way then,” Yang has to push her way out of the bed as the rest giggle and clamber about, all alert and awake. They must've gotten up and ready and left her to sleep in, because the girls are all dressed and ready to go. “If you want, you guys can head to the cafeteria and I’ll catch up.”

She glances at Nora from the corner of her eye and Nora gets the message, nodding seriously in reassurance. Yang can trust Nora with her team, at least until she has time to change and freshen up. “Come on then, let’s eat all the pancakes before Yang gets there!”

“That is not nice! You need to share.” Weiss frowns. “ Can I stay? Can I stay with you, Yang?"

Yang pauses rustling through her drawers to look over. “I’ll be fine, Weiss. Go ahead, I’ll be there before you know it. I don’t even like pancakes.” Nora howls at her for the last bit and Yang responds by blowing her a raspberry.

Weiss doesn’t look convinced, “Please? I wanna stay with you.”

Yang relents, but only because Weiss looks about ready to cry if she refuses and Yang know how to deal with that so early in the morning, but then Ruby looks torn.

“We’ll catch up before you can finish your first pancake, Valkyrie.”

“Well, we’ll just see about that.”

Nora leaves with Blake and Ruby, trying to get the girls to run faster so they can start on their pancakes before Yang can get there. Ruby dawdles but Yang tells her that there is no way the three of them are going to beat her and it lights the fire for competition to beat Yang - more than the competition to vie for Yang's attention from Weiss and she surges ahead of Nora and Blake.

 

Yang brushes her teeth and dresses quickly, in one of her extra combat uniforms and with a quick glance sees that in addition to the white cotton tank top and denim skort that’d been packed as extra clothes, Weiss has once again donned Yang’s orange infinity scarf. With a sigh and a smile, Yang gets one of her extras out.

“We match now.” Yang tells Weiss, who beams and hugs her around the knees, before looking up with wide blue eyes.

“Yang?”

“What is it, short-stuff?”

“Why are you taking care of me? Is Daddy paying you?” Weiss asks, voice serious. “Did he give me away?”

Oh fuck, Yang doesn’t know how to answer that. She isn’t exactly sure of anything about Weiss’s relationship with her family now because Weiss doesn't talk about them - well she talks about her family, but not about them, much less when Weiss was six. She doesn’t have a clue what will assure Weiss for the time being. Yang fall to knees, eye-level with Weiss and tries to find the right words. “I – Weiss, no. You girls staying with me – its temporary. Your dad,” Yang stops, hands on Weiss’s shoulders. She can’t say that he loves her, not if that isn’t true. It should be true, but she can’t promise a thing like that. Yang can’t make a false promise like that, not when all that she knows and has assumed about the Schnee family isn’t any good. “Your dad knows that I’m taking care of you and there isn’t anywhere safer than with me.”

Weiss considers this for a while. “Are you like my big sister now?”

Yang smiles at the thought, “You want me to be your big sis?”

“Mm-huh.” Weiss leans in conspiratorially, “I like you better than Winter!”

Winter is Weiss’s sister - she knows that much. Yang doesn’t know anything beyond that, though Yang can’t say she really cares for Winter. She might just be biased though, because she cannot imagine not being involved in Ruby’s life the way Winter seems is so very absent in Weiss’s, as least since they've been at Beacon. Until Ruby had been admitted to Beacon herself, Yang'd been prepared to travel back to Patch at every break and vacation she got and to have nightly calls over scroll to tide her over until the next time she could see her sister.

“Then my first order of business as your big sister is we are going to make Nora eat her words.” Yang grabs Weiss under one arm and moves her hands to support her back and under her knees and Weiss winds her arms around her neck. “Hold on tight, little sis.”

Yang isn’t Ruby (but then no one is); nevertheless Yang is faster than most and she pumps her legs as she runs, completely certain she’ll be able to beat Nora. She has a short-cut that she is positive Nora doesn’t know about, especially since it involves jumping out a three-story high balcony. Weiss shrieks with glee (or maybe terror).

Yang makes it to the cafeteria in record time and when she drops Weiss to her feet right in front of Nora, Nora and the girls are still at the buffet and haven't even taken their seats. Nora gives her a withering look.

“Children are really slow,” she grumbles from the corner of her mouth as Ruby and Blake dither in picking out their food and Weiss joins them. Yang smirks, but she appreciates the fact that Nora didn’t rush them.

“Our win,” Yang purrs smugly, sharing a look with a beaming Weiss, and gets her own tray. She loads up on eggs scrambled with spinach and cheese, bacon, sausage, waffles and syrup (because waffles are clearly superior to pancakes), hash browns, fruit, and oatmeal.

“Holy cow,” Ruby gapes at her tray as they set their trays down at a table.

“There is no cow here, just pig.” Glancing around at Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren, Yang asks, “Where’s Jaune?”

“Oh,” Pyrrha starts, “He already ate and left in a hurry, given last night I think.”

“What even happened last night?” Nora pipes in, “Jaune was acting weird when he came back to the dorm and he wouldn’t say why. Right, Ren?” Nora elbows Ren in the gut and Ren nods diplomatically and dribbles more syrup on his pancakes.

No one answers and Yang grunts in dismissal. It wasn’t like she’d actually expected Jaune to go out of his way to avoid them, but whatever. One less thing to worry about.

Yang is just about to ask what the girls want to do after breakfast, when Coco strides over to join the table, Velvet following behind.

“I see nothing’s changed since last night.” Coco observes, putting down her tray and sitting down. Velvet cautiously sits down next to her.

“It hasn’t been quite 24 hours yet, so it’s hardly surprising.” Yang answers, “but hopefully things’ll be back to normal tomorrow night.” If not, something has gone horribly wrong and Yang doesn’t want to think about it.

Coco hums appreciatively, “Well let me know.” She doesn’t say what to let her know about, but Yang figures she means both keeping her in the loop about her team’s status and their date. “Nice braid.”

Yang’s fingers fly up to touch her hair, still in the braid from last night. She’d forgotten about it, and while yesterday’s braid hadn’t been that embarrassing, her sleep-mussed one is. “Forgot about it, really.” She pulls out the elastic band and her fingers easily undo her plaits as she fluffs her hair into her usual wild mane of curls that is proud of. Hopefully no one pulls it.

Coco laughs, “I don’t think I’ve even seen you blush.” She leans in, “I like it.”

“Well-,” Yang starts, “We’ll see if you can’t see more of it on our date.”

“I look forward to it.”

Yang turns her attention to the rest at the table, to find the girls and Nora staring in interest while Pyrrha and Velvet stare red-cheeked at their trays, with far more interest than their nearly-empty plates really deserves.

Finishing off her glass of orange juice in one swallow, Yang turns to the them, “I’m thinking of taking the girls back out to the city for day, just to hand around I guess. Anyone wanna come with?” “I’d be happy to come,” Pyrrha volunteers. Nora and Ren have a study session planned and Velvet’s mom is coming up for lunch so she can’t.

“What about it Coco, wanna come with us?” Yang asks.

“Depends on if this’ll count as our date.”

“Of course not – I’ll be paying for these three here already, I’m not paying for one more so you'll have to pay your own way.” Yang laughs with a wink so Coco knows that she kidding, “Plus I want to be able to properly treat you for your help with the beds, just you and me.” Especially now that it seems it was all for naught.

“Then sure, I’ll come along.” Coco agrees, "Seeing as Yatsuhashi and Fox already have plans as well, my team has abandoned me."

The six of them decide to take a bus into the city and they’ll walk back to campus when they are done. The bus ride goes smoothly, though Ruby and Weiss squabble over who gets to sit next to Yang – luckily, there is room for all three of them in a seat and Blake sits without a fuss with Pyrrha and Coco.

"So where are we going?" Pyrrha asks, leaning forward to catch Yang's eye.

Yang hadn't really thought past getting to the city and hesitates in answering, "Uh."

"What about going to the movies?" Coco suggests.

"I've never been to a movie theater before!" Ruby agrees with a nod. It was true, Yang guesses, that neither of them gone to the movies until they'd started at Signal. They'd lived in the rather more secluded country and forest side and the closest town didn't have much, not even a theater. Vale had even more attractions to offer - much more than the city by Signal, nicer clubs and bars and malls bigger than all the malls in Patch combined.

"Me neither." Blake mumbles, so they agree to go see a movie together.

There really isn't much a selection, not for films that'd entertain both children and teenagers, so they get tickets to see some animated movie that promises fun for the entire family.

Five minutes into the movie, though, Ruby tugs at her wrist.

"I need to go the bathroom."

With a quick nod to Pyrrha, sitting next to Ruby's other side, Yang ducks down with Ruby following after her for the exit.

The bathrooms aren't very clean, but Ruby doesn't mind it the way Weiss had yesterday. Ruby takes a while to start peeing, but Yang's getting used to the fact that six year olds take an awful long time in the bathroom. Ruby chatters about the movie - or the five minutes that they've seen so far anyway. The movie is about pirates, slaying sea Grimm and finding treasure and saving people - so naturally Ruby loves it.

"Did you see her weapon? The girl with the slingshot?" Ruby squeals, "That was so cool! I can't wait until I'm a huntress and can make my own weapon!"

"Really? The one with the slingshot? Nah, the guy with the cannon in his arm is totally cooler. I mean, did you see that firepower?"

"No way! Her slingshot was really really big! And she wears a hood, like mom!" Ruby answers as she finally flushes.

Ruby tries to dash out and Yang has to catch her around the middle and remind her to wash her hands. Rub does so impatiently, bouncing from one leg to the other.

"Come on, hurry up!" Rub tugs her by the hand with damp hands, like Yang was the one that took forever to use the toilet, "We are missing the movie!"

In the time that Ruby and Yang were gone, the pirates have met up with some witches. Yang isn't sure what is going on, but it seems serious. Cartoons were never this deep when she was a kid - that or she'd never really paid attention. Yang had been more of an outdoorsy girl and hadn't watched as much television as Ruby had, who liked any form of storytelling she could get her hands on. Movies were always more of a "I'm sick and can't do anything else," sort of thing for Yang.

It is just as the guy with the cannon in his arm is sacrificing himself to a Kraken Grimm to save his crew that Weiss leans in. "Yang, toilet."

With a heavy heart, Yang takes her. It is a child's movie anyway, he won't really die.

Weiss takes a while in choosing which stall to take - one someone forgot to flush, another has pee on the seat, and yet another one's floor is wet.

"The screen is much smaller than the one at my house," Weiss says when Yang asks how she is liking the movie. Yang rolls her eyes - rich girls.

By the time Weiss finally uses the uses the toilet and washes her hands, the movie is half over and as Yang crosses the aisle to get back to her seat (the pirate team is holding a funeral for her cannon guy and they are all underwater, taking refuge with mermaids as they mourn; Yang cannot imagine how they got there but she holds hope in cannonball guy - he can't possible be dead), Blake grabs her by the wrist. With one look at Blake, Yang knows. Pyrrha offers in a whisper to take her, but Yang waves her off. She's missed most of the movie anyway, no sense in Pyrrha missing anything as well.

"So how is the movie?" Not like Yang would know.

Surprisingly, though, Blake smiles radiantly. "Did you see it? Schwarz is a Faunus! And he's the second-mate!"

Yang blinks in surprise, she hadn't noticed.

"He is so cool!" Blake gushes as she talks. "Maybe I'll become a pirate too. when I grow up!" Unlike Ruby and Weiss, she goes to the bathroom as quickly as possible and they are out in record time. Blake runs ahead and Yang jogs to keep up. As Yang goes to her seat, Coco stops her.

With a devilish look, Coco smirks, "Me too?"

Tempted as Yang is, she can't leave Pyrrha by herself. Besides, she is fairly certain Coco is just taking the piss out on her.

"I'm sure you can manage by yourself."

Coco cackles and lets her pass and stays in her seat.

Now that Yang pays attention to the movie, she does see Schwarz. He is a fox Faunus and Blake glows every time he is one screen. He is also riding a dragon, as are the rest of the crew. Hell if Yang knows how that happened, but the fight against the Leviathan Grimm is hella awesome. Even Yang is on the edge of her seat.

The movie ends with the crew flying off into space with their treasure, to kill space Grimm and find space treasure and save space people. It was a wild ride from start to finish and Yang's heart is just a little bit broken that cannon guy stays dead.

"I cannot believe he died! I was so sure he'd come back." Yang fumes, as they stay behind and let everyone else out of the theater first. Maybe there'll be a final scene after the credits and he'll come back. "How is this for kids?" But the rest of her team don't seem perturbed by it and pat her knee consolingly. Pyrrha agrees though, with red-rimmed eyes. Coco is just amused.

"I believe you missed most of the movie. Perhaps we should watch it again, for our date."

"No way," Yang is pretty sure if she has to watch her guy die, especially knowing he is going to stay dead, she'll cry. "Unless you don't think you can't handle a big kid movie." Coco smiles as though sensing her thoughts.

"Oh, no. We are definitely seeing this movie together again." Coco laughs, "You owe me, remember? But I'll be sure to hold your hand when Voshkie dies."

Yang pouts at her a bit before turning her attention to the rest of her team and Pyrrha. Blake can't stop talking about Schwarz, while Ruby sings the praises of Valentine (Yang figures that was slingshot girl - her secret identity as Pirate Queen had been revealed in the end). Weiss seems most excited about the Pirate Captain Bones, whose father had poured molten metal on her face, burning half her face off, leaving only skull before exiling her to a remote island where she'd built herself a ship and decided to become a pirate.

They don't stop talking about the movie all throughout lunch. Yang orders an all-you-can-eat seafood platter and eats to her fill, much to the waitstaff's chagrin. She leaves them an enormous tip in apology.

After finishing their food, they decide to head to the park. It has got a proper playground, unlike the swing set at Beacon.

"Don't run!" Yang shouts after them, as Ruby surges ahead for the slides. Blake settles into the sand box and Weiss takes the see-saw.

"Yang, Yang! I need someone to sit on the other side! Please, please, play with me!" Weiss calls. Pyrrha and Coco wave her off to join Weiss, as they sit on benches to watch Ruby and Blake.

Yang joins Weiss and only narrowly avoids sending her shooting straight into the air when she sits on the other side. They have to wave over Pyrrha to join in on Weiss's side to even their weights so the see-saw works properly. The motion of the see-saw hurts Yang's ass, as it keeps thunking her in the rear, and she keeps getting distracted, eyes constantly drawn to her sister and her partner and over to Coco, to make sure that she was watching the kids. Coco must have felt her eyes on her and she flicks Yang the finger and waves her off. Yang raspberries in her direction, even if she isn't sure where Coco is looking because of her sunglasses.

It is really hard to be thrilled by any park playground equipment after feeling the thrill of killing Grimm and the adrenaline rush from fighting her peers. Still, Weiss's nonstop laughter is infectious. The Weiss she knows doesn't change her attitude no matter where she is, no matter if she's alone or is the center of attention (unless, of course, it is the attention of someone she admires - like Pyrrha), but this Weiss flourishes under adult attention - especially Yang's - like she doesn't get it often enough. Or not in the way that a six year old deserves.

Luckily the see-saw can only hold Weiss's attention for so long and then she wants Yang to help her on the monkey bars. Yang obliges, casting cautious glances in Ruby's direction. She'd hate to have a repeat of last time they were in a park.

Ruby's jealousy that time hadn't been something Yang had ever seen from her sister before. In fact, this angry Ruby was an entirely new Ruby that Yang doesn't really remember. It might have something to do with the fact that for much of Ruby's early life, the only person she competed for attention from their parents and Uncle Qrow was Yang herself and most of the time Yang's attention was on Ruby. Especially after mom died.

It is something new for Ruby, Yang's attention being elsewhere and six year old Ruby doesn't know how to handle it.

When Ruby comes over to join Weiss and Yang, Yang is ooh-ing and ahh-ing as Weiss crosses the bars all by herself.

Touching Yang's knee, Ruby announces, "Yang! I want your attention."

Yang smiles, because that is the brilliant, amazing little sister that she knows.

Yang tries to get Pyrrha over to assist Weiss, but Weiss insists on staying with Yang and Ruby allows it - as long as Yang plays with Ruby too. Ruby decides to join Blake at the sand box and Yang and Weiss follow her.

Blake has got a good start to a sand castle going and she seems happy to have their help. Yang tries to split her attention for all three of them, giving them all some one-on-one attention - but she tries to focus on Ruby, because she'd asked for it. It helps when Pyrrha comes to join them and Coco fetches them pails of water to wet the sand with.

Their creation gets pretty tall by the time they are finished and Blake dubs the castle Valentine's Castle and they play like characters from the movie for a while until its half-past three and Yang offers to treat everyone to something sweet. Before leaving, Yang snaps a photo of them with their castle with her scroll.

The girls walk ahead while Yang hangs back with Coco and Pyrrha, keeping an eye on them.

"Doggy!" Weiss shouts, just as they have made it make onto the main street. There is a woman walking her dog up ahead and the dog barks and wags his tail as Ruby and Weiss run towards the pair.

"Oi! Stay with me!" Yang yells after them, stopping beside Blake. "And ask before you touch that dog!"

A loud, terrified screech stops Yang from saying anything else. Instantly Yang assumes a defensive stance, searching for danger, before turning her eyes onto Blake beside her.

Blake's pupils eclipsed nearly all of her golden irises and her nails clawed at Yang’s bare legs as she attempts to scramble her way off the ground and away from the dog. Her screams continue without pausing for breath and they draw the attention from everyone on the street.

Yang scoops her up and runs off with Blake, shouting for Coco and Pyrrha to watch Ruby and Weiss, without looking back even as she hears them both begin crying. Blake continues her harrowing cry and Yang holds her even after they’ve reached a secluded alley where no one but Yang can hear her partner’s wordless scream.

Blake’s arms hold tightly around Yang’s neck and her fingers pull at her hair and for once Yang doesn’t even notice. All she can think of is Blake leaping into the air when Zwei first got unpackaged and her own teasing laughter at her partner. It’s a long while before Blake’s scream begins to peter-out and she falls limply into Yang. Yang can feel Blake's heart beat rapidly, pressed up against her chest where Yang’s own heart hammers.

“Blake,” Yang rasps uncertain of what to say as she pulls away to watch Blake’s face. She wants to ask if her little partner is okay, but she can’t ask that when the answer is so obvious. “What happened? What is wrong?”

“The dogs,” Blake sobs suddenly. She hasn’t cried at all until now, cold tears running down clammy skin. Yang rubs them away with trembling hands, even as more slowly leak out. Now Blake’s pupils are dilated to pin-pricks now that the immediate danger has passed. “Dogs hurt us. Hurt me. Don’t let them hurt me.”

“Never,” Yang promises, because she knows she can keep it. Blake sobs in earnest now, shoulder wracking. Small, cold fingers claw at Yang’s chest. Blake is so small right now, but still so strong and her fingers hurt. Yang doesn’t stop her.

“It’s gonna get me. Don’t let it get me.”

“You’re safe. I’m here. I won’t let it get you.”

“The humans. They’re gonna send their dogs after me. They’re gonna –,” Blake chokes on her words and quakes at whatever she was going to say.

“Blake, stop. Stop. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Yang tries not to sound too upset. She is learning a lot about her team through this ordeal, facts and things she thinks she might never have known if this hadn’t happened. Her team is defenseless and entirely dependent upon her. It feels voyeuristic. She shouldn’t be forcing information out of them that they never planned to tell her. Even still, she can’t ignore the Blake in her arms right now so she leaves the choice to her. “Do you want to? I’ll listen, but you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Blake’s head shakes. “I don’t wan’ta talk about the dogs. Don’t make me.”

“I won’t. I’ve got you, you are safe with me.”

“You’ll protect me?”

“Always.”

“Dogs won’t hurt me?”

“No one will hurt you. Never while I’m around.”

Blake slowly stops gasping for breath and then, once Blake as gone slack, Yang picks her partner up and walks out of the alley and back onto the street. She continues quietly assuring Blake even as she goes to the nearest café and orders Blake an ice water for her throat. Blake sips at it through a straw before looking at a couple sharing their ice cream cones right next to them.

“Can I have a ice cream?”

Lips quirking up just for a second, “What flavor do you want, Blake-baby?”

Eyes blinking slowly, either at the question or the nickname, Blake deliberates over her answer for a while. “’unno. Only had ‘nilla before,” Blake hiccups.

Yang orders five small bowls of vanilla, rocky road, cookie dough, moose tracks, and mint-chip. Ordering so many might be overkill but she wants to treat Blake and make her feel special and safe after what just happened. Besides, they’ll share and Yang can easily finish whatever Blake can’t.

Yang laughs when Blake turns her nose on the mint-chip, which she knows was her partner’s favorite on a normal day - that is, a day when Blake is not six. She is even more amused when Blake picks out the rocky road as the best, Yang’s favorite. Yang finishes the four other ice creams after Blake sampled them all and Blake keeps the rocky road to herself. Yang’s done before Blake and she watches her teammate eat slowly, eyes wide and enthralled with her ice cream, even as it starts to melt. When she catches Yang watching her she beams.

Yang isn’t sure if all children are so strong and able to bounce back after such a traumatic event or if it is just Blake, but Yang is proud of her.

Either way, Yang is relieved that Blake is going to be okay. Sighing, Yang takes out her scroll and finds a bunch of messages from Pyrrha and Coco both. Luckily they seem more worried than upset and Yang tells them she’s handled the situation and they arrange a meeting spot in ten minutes.

As they are leaving the café, Blake holds up her arms to be carried just like Weiss and Ruby have been. Yang isn’t sure what age kids stop getting carried everywhere, but she’s pretty certain her whole team is getting really spoiled. Nevertheless, she carries Blake. It isn’t like Yang couldn’t bench-press a fully grown Blake without breaking a sweat and Blake’s probably pretty tired from her melt down. Besides, her team isn't going to be this small for long and it isn't like Yang'll have to deal with them getting bratty from a bit a spoiling.

On the way to meeting Pyrrha, Coco, and the rest of their team, Yang takes great care to make certain that there isn’t any dogs on any street they are on but luckily they don’t come across any.

“Yang!” she hears twin cries before they’ve even reached the appointed meeting spot and both Weiss and Ruby latch themselves to her legs. “Blake!”

Behind Ruby and Weiss, Pyrrha looks relieved to see them and Coco looks just a little traumatized as she tries to fix her beret back on her mussed hair.

“Blake,” Pyrrha greets while Yang sets her down and the rest of her team hug Blake tearfully, “You’re okay.”

Yang nods but doesn't volunteer any more information and Pyrrha smiles in relief.

“Sorry I ran off on you. I know these two were a handful.” Yang greets, sending Coco a smirk as Coco tries to shake crumbs off of her shirt.

Pyrrha tries to deny it but Coco cuts her off, “They were. I don’t know how you can handle them by yourself.” She looks exhausted. Coco is a great and compassionate leader to her team and she easily commands authority even from people who aren’t on her team, but children are definitely out of her element. Coco could handle creatures of Grimm with ease, but it seems the great Coco Adel is defeated by small children and Yang smiles at the thought.

“They’re my team.” Yang answers honestly and it is all the answer needed, because Coco nods in recognition - she would be able to care for her team the same way if necessary.

“Well, I suppose we can count our blessings that it isn’t you that is six right now. Bet you were a real handful even then, weren’t you Yang?” Coco smirks.

Yang grins widely, though she hadn’t considered what would be happening if she had gotten caught up in the Youth Dust herself. She is really lucky she hadn’t – much as she knows her team is going to be mortified once they return to their usual ages, Yang isn’t sure she would have been able to handle her team seeing her at six years old. She’d always been something of a difficult child, often explosively angry especially after her mom had died. The only thing that had ever kept her calm was Ruby.

“You bet your ass I was,” Yang chirps.

“You swore,” all three girls chime.

Grinning down at them, Yang laughs, “Fuck yeah I did.” She doesn’t see much of a point censoring herself around children ever, especially her baby-fied team who don’t have any angry parents around the corner to scold her. Words are words she figures, and it is nonsense to assign some words as too naughty to be said. “Watcha gonna do about it?”

Considering for a long while, Ruby and Weiss decide they want to wash her mouth out with soap and Coco murmurs close to Yang’s ear she could think of a couple things she’d like to put in Yang’s mouth.

Blushing furiously, Yang demands they all stop ganging up on her. Swearing in front of the girls is one thing, this is entirely different.

Pyrrha is an angel even though she hasn’t an idea what Coco whispered in Yang’s ear and she asks if they shouldn’t head back to the dorms. After this is all over, Yang definitely owes her more than one favor.

On the way back, her team fight over who gets to hold Yang’s hand, even Blake this time. Ruby and Blake take Yang’s hands in the end and Weiss gets to sit on her shoulders. She feels a bit silly, following after Coco and Pyrrha who are not drapped in children but she doesn’t really have time to feel embarrassed as Ruby and Weiss fill her in on what they’d been up to while Yang and Blake had been gone.

“We had ice cream cones!” Ruby grins and Yang feels the evidence in Ruby’s still sticky hands.

“Nice, Blake and I did too.” Yang answers, “Isn’t that right, Blake?”

Blake nods, “Uh-huh. I liked the chocolate marshmallow one.”

Ruby smiles toothily, “Guess what! They didn’t have cookie dough, but Coco got me a ‘nilla ice cream and then she got me TWO cookies and mushed the ice cream together like a sandwich! Isn’t that cool?”

“Sure is.”

Weiss is playing with her hair up top and Yang really hopes her fingers aren’t half as sticky as Ruby’s still are. Shrugging her shoulders to get her attention, Yang asks, “What kind did you have, Weiss-cream?”

“Weiss cried ‘cause they didn’t have blueberry!” Ruby volunteers when Weiss doesn’t answer.

“Did not!”

“Too!”

“Not, not, not!”

The two bicker all the way back to Beacon, giving Yang a headache as well as Pyrrha and Coco but it is a pleasant walk all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mint chocolate chip ice cream used to be my favorite and then I went vegan and none of the vegan brands of mint chip are green and if mint ice cream isn't green what even is the point. Also I've never had rocky road.
> 
> The movie isn't based off any real movie, I just dumped a bunch of my favorite themes (pirates, underwater/mermaids, outer space, witches, dragons,...) and the movie wasn't even supposed to be a big deal but then it got really meta with their favorites and now it'll probably re-appear in the sequel so I'll have to name it probably. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but Weiss's favorite pirate ended up basically being basically pirate!Zuko from ATLA so am I basically calling Weiss Zuko? I have no idea, but I want that crossover now.
> 
> (Wait Yang's favorite died, no. what kind of meta did I come up with. how about no)


	4. Everything you need is all I have for you

Yang parts ways with Pyrrha and Coco after getting back to campus and she takes her team to their dorm's bathroom to wash Ruby off.  
  
Wetting a hand cloth, Yang wipes the traces of sticky ice cream from Ruby's fingers and mouth.  
  
"You are a mess."  
  
Ruby grins cheekily as Yang wipes off her own hands and legs where Ruby'd been touching her.  
  
"How 'bout you huh? Up playing in my hair with sticky fingers, were you?" Yang says as she turns to Weiss, ready to clean her off as well.  
  
"My fingers are clean." Weiss replies primly, though she offers them up for Yang to see. Sure enough they are and Yang tosses the towel away. She knows Blake is clean too, she already took care of her before meeting back of with the rest.  
  
"Well, good job. Ruby's the only sticky monster here."  
  
"Sticky Ruby monster," Weiss chimes with a giggle.  
  
And so begins a full hour of playing Grimms and Huntresses, with Ruby as the awful Sticky Grimm, at least until Ruby complains and Yang takes over the role as the Grimm.  
  
It ends when Blake cleverly shuts Yang inside the bathroom and locks the door. Suddenly afraid of being in trouble, they refuse to unlock the door and let her out so Yang has to take the door off by the hinges. More trouble for Professor Goodwitch to scold her with if she can't fix the door herself before the next room check.  
  
Yang's only mildly irritated and decides not to get too mad at her team. They are only going to be six for a short while longer (crossing her fingers) and she'd rather enjoy the rest of their time together so when she emerges from the room, Yang slips back into her role as the Grimm and collapses dramatically to the floor. From the corner of her lips, she announces that the bathroom was full of poisonous gas and the three brave huntresses have vanquished the evil Grimm as she plays dead.  
  
The girls yip and cheer for a while, until Weiss and Blake peer cautiously at her. Blake pokes her and then pats her in the cheek a few times. Her fingers are startlingly cold.  
  
"Yang?" Weiss shakes at her shoulder. "Are you okay? Yang wake up!"  
  
She has pretended to be dead long enough it seems and Yang blinks her eyes open. "You did it!"  
  
"Yang!" Blake cries out as she tackles Yang back to the ground just as she was trying to sit back up. "You're okay!"  
  
"Of course I am, it'll take more than just poison gas to take me down. I'm stronger than any Grimm, I'm offended you thought any less of me," Yang teases as she ruffles Blake's baby-soft hair and static makes strands of fine hair spike up and Yang snorts on a laugh.  
  
"I'm sorry I locked you in the bathroom."  
  
"It's cool. 'sides you locked the Grimm in there didn't you, not me right?" She tries sitting back up again.  
  
"Mm-huh."  
  
Ruby and Weiss join Blake in piling on top of Yang.  
  
"We saved you from the Grimm!"  
  
"Sure did, Ruby-Ruby-roo," Ruby grins widely and headbutts Yang, who falls back back to ground once more. "I'm pooped."  
  
They giggle - it really is wild how children think even the most banal thing is funny.  
  
"Winter never plays with me, I'm glad you are my sister now Yang! You're so much fun, I wanna stay with you forever and ever and ever and -,"  
  
"Yang isn't your sister!" Ruby snaps peevishly. Yang tries sitting up one last time, because here they go again.  
  
"Yang said that she'd be my big sister from now on." Weiss huffs, this time she looks ready to fight back if Ruby tries to hit her again.  
  
"Your sister?" Ruby starts sharply, but her eyes are on Yang. "Yang is MY sister."  
  
"Well now she's my sister," Weiss stares dirtily at Ruby, arms guarding her face for an attack but Ruby only looks anxiously at Yang.  
  
"Yup, Weiss is my little sis now too," Yang starts, placing one hand on Weiss's head. Then she puts her other hand on Ruby's head. "What is mine is yours, Ruby. Weiss is my little sister, so she is your sister too."  
  
"My little sister?"  
  
"No, uh, your bigger sister. Blake too," Yang pulls Blake in from where she'd fallen to the silently to the side and brushes her bangs away from her wide and staring eyes. "All three of you are mine. And whats mine is yours. So we all belong to each other. We're... a team. Family. Sisters, too, if you want to be Blake. And I'm always going to look after you guys."  
  
"Really?" Yang turns to Blake, sees the uncertainty in her tense mouth and downcast eyes.  
  
"I know you don't believe me now, but you'll see." Yang promises, before admitting, "I'm going to fuck up. But I'll try and catch myself and if I don't I'm going to trust you guys to tell me. And I dunno if you guys are going to remember this or not, but if you don't I'll say this all again then."  
  
"Why wouldn't we remember? Yang, you're being silly." Ruby giggles and leans in.  
  
"Right, silly me." Yang breaths out as she lets Ruby grab her cheeks and touch their foreheads together. She can feel the weight of Weiss on her lap and Blake is winding her arms around her shoulders.  
  
The moment is broken, once again by Prryha - this time by scroll and Yang shuffles on the floor to grab her scroll and answer her and the girls scramble off of her.  
  
"You guys okay?" Pyrrha asks. "Dinner is half-way through and I don't see you in the cafeteria."  
  
"Oh shit, right. We'll be right there, Pyrrha." Yang scrambles up off of the floor. "Hurry up, get your shoes on. We've gotta run if we want time to eat.  
  
"Thanks for warning us. We were kind of... I lost track of time." Yang tells Pyrrha as she opens the door and the girls quickly follow her out. Despite what she said, Yang doesn't let them run the whole way to the cafeteria, though she does encourage them to walk briskly.  
  
"Its fine, I wasn't sure if you decided to go out to eat or I just missed you or something. I'll save you guys a spot at our table, like always." Pyrrha hangs up their scroll call and they are most of the way to the cafeteria.  
  
Yang'd forgotten it was taco night - definitely every student’s favorite night of the month even if everyone regrets it at night when they've got to sleep in a dorm full of people who'd just filled up on beans and red onion but the guacamole is killer and definitely worth it.  
  
There are pre-made enchiladas, quesadillas, and tamales from the kitchen, but the best part is the 'build your own tacos' carts and burritos and Yang leads her team over to the taco bar. Even though it takes a while, as the girls dither in choosing their fillings, but its fun.  
  
When they finally make it over to sit with team JNPR, Jaune tries to slink away unnoticed even though he hasn't finished and Yang exhales loudly in exasperation.  
  
"Sit down, Jaune."  
  
Jaune obeys. "Yes ma'am."  
  
"Finish your dinner and stop being such a creep." Why's Jaune gotta make this weird? This is why she lets Ruby deal with the guy and leaves well enough alone with him.  
  
"O-ho. So it IS Yang's fault that Jaune is being all weird! Told ya, Ren!" Ren bobs his head noncommittally and Nora goes on, "So what happened, like for real?"  
  
"Don't want to talk about it." Jaune's eyes flicker around the table before settling on his food, but he distinctly does not look at Weiss, who has settled to Yang's left. She's sampling Blake's mango salsa and Blake has somehow settled on Yang's lap without her notice and she's shoved Yang's tray to the side to make room to her own. Yang peers down curiously down at Blake who cranes her head back to beam blamelessly back up at her.  
  
Yang snorts in amusement and shifts her tray to eat without comment.  
  
"He doesn't want to _taco_ 'bout it," Yang bounces Blake on her lap as she and the rest of her team giggles. Nora rolls her eyes.  
  
“That was weak."  
  
"That is not a nice thing to say." Weiss scolds and pats Yang on the knee soothingly, "I think you are very strong, Yang, and your joke was very funny."  
  
Yang grins and ruffles Weiss's hair, messing up her pigtails. "Don't mind her girls, Nora just likes to get _jalapeño_ business."  
  
"You do this every taco night," Nora huffs. "Those puns were never funny and they aren't funny now."  
  
"If you keep saying such hateful things I'm _nacho_ friend anymore."  
  
Her team shrieks with laughter, Nora fumes, and the rest of Team JNPR ignore dispute that Nora and Yang have every taco night. This time, though, Yang's got the rest of her team on her side.  
  
"You girls need to spend some time with someone that is actually funny, like me!" Nora snorts, "How about Ren and I come over and play with you guys, huh? Show you an actual fun time and a sense of humor that expands past stale wordplay."  
  
Yang makes a fart noise with her hand, but Ruby shouts, "Can we play as pirates, like the movie?"  
  
"Wait, did Pirate Bones  & The Mighty with Seven Heads come out already? Ren, why didn't you remind me?" Nora shakes Ren by the shoulders.  
  
"'forgot," he mumbles.  
  
"We've got to watch it! Tonight! I'm sure we can pirate it and then we can play!"  
  
Ruby cheers, "I wanna be Valentine! She's Queen of the Pirates!"  
  
Nora shrieks and covers her ears. "Noo! Spoilers! For that, I'll take my revenge... tomorrow." Standing accusingly over Ruby but with a wide grin, Nora declares, "For I am Queen of the Castle and even the Queen of the Pirates shall quiver before me."  
  
"No chance!" Ruby shouts and Yang has to grab her by the back of her jeans to stop her from standing on her seat. Blake and Weiss howl their approval as Ruby asserts "You will be sorry, challenging Valentine to battle!"  
  
"Tell her Ruby - we'll defeat you, Nora, and make you _guac_ the plank." Yang baits and dips a tortilla chip into guacamole for emphasis, but before she can take a bit her face is splashed with chunks of pico de gallo and Nora's eyes blaze. Before Yang can retaliate though, Pyrrha cuts in sharply.  
  
"Both of you, stop now. We can't have another food fight. It was... enjoyable last time, but Professor Goodwitch will never let us get away with it again with only a week of detention. Besides, we've children watching us right now."  
  
Sure enough, Weiss and Blake are staring wide-eyed at Nora and Ruby is reaching to grab something off her tray, presumably to throw at Nora. Yang catches her by the wrist with a quiet but firm, "Ruby no."  
  
"You attacked my sister! I'll revenge you Yang."  
  
"Me too, me too!" cries Weiss, reaching until Yang catches her elbow with her other hand.  
  
"You shouldn't throw food, it's not very nice." Blake scolds crisply and hands Yang a napkin. Yang reluctantly releases Ruby's hand to take it and wipe her cheek.  
  
"Yeah, not nice at all." Yang snickers and Nora looks unimpressed.  
  
"You look pretty smug for someone being defended by babies."  
  
"I am NOT a BABY!" Ruby howls and the other two agree hotly.  
  
The rest of dinner is a very one-sided argument about how six year olds are not babies, thank you very much, while Yang and Nora make faces at each other whenever Ruby, Weiss, and Blake aren't looking. After, they head back to the dorms and Nora promises to pirate the movie to watch that night so they'd be able to play in the morning. She's an awful good sport every time Ruby lets slip a spoiler and Yang slings an arm around Nora's shoulder while they walk back. The girls are relieved they've made up and Yang doesn't have the heart to tell them they'd never been seriously arguing.  
  
This time, when Yang gives them a bath, Blake joins the other two. Ruby wants Yang to join them, but the bath tub only just barely fits three kids, so she passes, but after they are almost finished, Yang starts stripping down in front of them. Then Ruby asks her why her boobs are so big, will her boobs be that big when she grows up, she doesn't want them to be, they look scary and Yang shoves her sister's head under the water and when she releases her, her sister comes up laughing and sputtering and her questions are forgotten as Yang pulls her out of the tub and towels her down, before doing the same with the other two.  
  
When Yang shuts off the shower, she can hear her team laughing and playing through the empty door frame that she still needs to fix. She takes her time drying off and pulling her pajamas. By tomorrow night, either her team will be back to themselves or they'll need a medic, but either way this will be her last night with them like this. She'll miss them, she thinks, but not nearly as much as she misses her real team.  
  
When she steps out, Blake is rubbing her eyes and Weiss is yawning even as they play.  
  
“Brush your teeth then bed?” Yang offers, but Ruby shakes her head vehemently despite bleary eyes.  
  
“Yang tell us a story, first!” Weiss and Blake bob their heads in agreement. “And this time you've gotta tell the whole story be-fore I fall asleep.”  
  
“Not my fault you fell asleep before I started last night, but fine. Brush your teeth first though, no buts.”  
  
They oblige her and Yang flops onto Blake's bed while she waits. Blake finishes first and tentatively comes to stand by the bed.  
  
“Yang?”  
  
“Hm?” Yang pulls Blake onto the bed with her by her middle. Blake giggles and shuffles closer as Yang asks, “Whats up Blake-Blake?”  
  
“Can I sleep with you tonight, too?” Yang grins and squeezes her tight before realizing all three of them wouldn't fit in the same bed.  
  
“'Course, just wait a sec.” She pops up and pulls Blake off the bed by her bare feet and she falls to the floor with a thump and a guffaw.  
  
Pulling both of the bottom bunk's mattresses out of the beds, Yang pushes them together to make a bed they'll all fit in. “There we go.” And then Yang picks Blake up under the armpits and throws her on top, still laughing, before doing the same with Ruby and Weiss who'd joined them while she'd been taking the beds apart.  
  
“Again!” they squeal as they try to scramble back out of bed.  
  
“Nope, story then bed.” Yang tosses the sheets over them and snaps the sheets to straighten them out but when the girls shriek with delight, she flaps them a couple extra times before letting the sheets settle over their heads. They stay under and shuffle underneath until Yang pulls them back and joins them in bed. “So what kind of story you want then, huh?”  
  
She already knows they answer though and Ruby squawks, “Tell me a story about huntresses! Heroes!”  
  
So Yang tells them a story about four sister huntresses teaming up with a team of four friends to kill a Death Stalker and Nevermore. They are thrilled every time Yang names their “character,” and they pause every time she mentions Jaune to talk about about how weird he was, (“He was really funny and nice to me yesterday, but he was all quiet at dinner that is so weird,” Weiss pouts) and maybe Yang changes the story up a little to give the three all of the glory but they are delighted and hang on Yang's every word.  
  
“And then the four sisters had many more adventures together,” Yang broke off in a yawn, Blake then Ruby and finally Weiss following suit, “The end.”  
  
“Wow,” Ruby breaths, eyes already shutting, “I can't wait until I'm big and I can be a huntress too.”  
  
“Maybe I'll be a huntress when I grow up instead of a pirate,” Blake murmurs. Ruby turns over and sleepily shoves Blake's shoulder.  
  
“You gotta, so we can be a team together.”  
  
All three of them laugh and whisper softly until one by one, only Yang is awake. Peeling off the covers and trying not to jostle them, Yang slips out. She hadn't brushed her teeth yet.  
  
The sound that comes from the bedroom while she is brushing her teeth is indescribable, but Yang knows something has happened when she peeks into the room with her toothbrush still in her mouth. Laying with Blake and Ruby is a fully grown Weiss, sitting up and looking bewildered until her eyes land on Yang.  
  
“What did you do?” And that is they cranky Weiss that Yang knows and loves but never fully appreciated until now and Yang jumps on top of Weiss.  
  
“You're okay!” Toothpaste gets into Weiss's hair and Weiss is going to absolutely kill her but she is just so relieved and, besides, it isn't like Weiss hasn't gotten snot and slobber all over her the past couple days.  
  
“Get off of me you ape, ugh what is that you are drooling on my hair? You are absolutely disgusting!”  
  
As Blake rolls over and grunts in her sleep, Yang puts her hand over Weiss's mouth, “Shh, you'll wake the girls.”  
  
“The who?” Weiss looks over at the other two, “Yang, explain what happened right now or you'll regret it.”  
  
“Sure, sure.” Yang grins, toothpaste on her chin she goes in for another snuggle but Weiss shoves her hand in her face to stop her, “You cannot believe how much I missed your crabby ass.”

“Ew,” Weiss pulls her hand away, Yang's toothpaste dribble all over it. She wipes her palm on Yang's pajama top and she snorts because it is such a Weiss think to do. “Rinse your mouth out, then explain everything,” she amends.  
  
Yang obeys and even washes her face before coming back. Weiss is staring wordlessly at Blake and Ruby when she returns.  
  
“So I take it you don't remember anything?”  
  
With a frown, Weiss starts, “I - kind of. Not memories, exactly. But feelings? Its weird.” Turned over to look at Yang, her cold piercing eyes are accusing and her scar a blazing red contrast from her pale skin, “I do know this is entirely your fault.”  
  
“Most things are,” Yang replies more flippantly than she really feels. “I'm sorry. I've honestly been really scared these passed couple of days. Still am, to be honest,” she continues more sincerely as she joins Weiss in watching her blood-sister and her partner as they sleep, hands clasped together and heads touching.  
  
“We turned into kids, then?” Weiss aptly surmises, looking pointedly at Blake and Ruby as evidence, and Yang nods.  
  
“Yep, you were all composites, or whatever, of your six year old selves. You were so sweet. All of your were. Are? ” She doesn't mention how lonely and desperate for attention and affection Weiss was, she thinks she already knows better than Yang what she'd felt as a child.  
  
Weiss shudders, hands forming fists and Yang watches her her nails bite her palms as her eyes shutter closed.  
  
“I took care of you. I know its my fault, but I promised to take care of you and I think you were happy.”  
  
With surprising bitterness that Yang senses isn't directed towards her, Weiss sighs. “I imagine I was. You're a good person, a better sister, and far better than anyone I knew while I was a child.”  
  
Yang lets Weiss's words hang like a heavy stone, before saying “I promised to be your big sister, then, and I still promise the same thing now. I don't go back on my word.” She puts her arm around Weiss, pulls her in for a tight hug and Weiss elbows her warningly.  
  
“Don't be stupid Yang.”  
  
“I'm not, I am just being honest. You're my little sister, you and Blake both, and I'm going to take care of you. I swear.”  
  
"Yang, I'm older than you. The only one younger than you on this team is Ruby. Your actual little sister."  
  
But Yang only nuzzles into Weiss. "Doesn't matter. I'm gonna be your little big sister from now on. And you are my big little sister who is littler than me."  
  
"I will crush you one day Yang and you will regret this."  
  
"Love you too, little sis." Weiss huffs but stops shoving her elbows into Yang and even relaxes into Yang.  
  
"You're such a menace." Weiss clicks her tongue before acquiescing, "But I suppose Ruby turned out better than she might have, having you for a sister." Yang senses that Weiss is thinking about Winter and she holds her tongue and keeps her close.  
  
"Yang?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"What did I say? About my family and, well, what did I say that is making you say this, promise that?”  
  
“Not much to be honest. I really did try not to, like, invade any of your privacy, but still keep ya'll happy.” She pauses to consider before going on, “You asked, though, if I could be your big sister. Said you liked me better than Winter.”  
  
Weiss smiles bitterly and nods.  
  
Licking her lips, Yang carefully chooses her next words, “You asked if your dad gave you away.” Weiss doesn't seems surprised, just nods in acceptance, though her cheeks flush in embarrassment.  
  
“Anything else?”  
  
“Not really, no.” Nothing that Weiss really needed to hear, at least, just observations. Yang grins, suddenly remembering. “You were a really great kid.”  
  
Weiss smiles thinly. “Okay then,” she sighs, her eyes shut. “I'm tired.  
  
“Been a long day.” Yang notices for the first time that, somehow, Weiss is back in her combat uniform. It is very wrinkled though, like it'd been crumpled before she'd put it on but the uniform Weiss had been wearing at the start of this mess had been neatly pressed. “We can talk more in the morning.”  
  
This time when Weiss extracts herself from Yang, Yang lets her go and she watches Weiss dig out her pajamas from the drawer before heading to bathroom and stopping dead.  
  
“Yang,” her hands on hips, “What happened to the door?”  
  
“Oh, uh, tell you in the morning? Totally not my fault though!”  
  
Weiss sighs but heads into the bathroom to change despite the missing door nullifying the privacy.  
  
Out of curiosity, Yang reaches into the discarded bag's that she'd long forgotten when this whole mess began. Sure enough, while Blake and Ruby's combat clothes are tucked inside, Weiss's are missing. Instead is the t-shirt and underpants Weiss had been wearing to sleep that night, still slightly warm from body heat. Very intriguing.  
  
As Yang looked through the pile and sorted them, her hand grasped at something that was not cloth or any sort of fastening. With a breath, she pulled out a test-tube of corked pink Dust. The Youth Dust that had started this all. She must have taken it by accident, in a haze of panic.  
  
With a shrug, Yang adds sets it aside with her things, just as Weiss comes back into the room. She'll figure out what to do with it later.  
  
“Aw,” Weiss coos when she catches Blake with her fingers sucking on her fingers in her sleep. “They are so cute. How little.”  
  
Yang grins and takes out her scroll while Weiss fusses over them. “You were pretty cute too, you know.” As she pulls up a photo of all of them posing with their sand castle on her scroll, passing it over.  
  
“Oh, look. So cute, so… Yang.” Weiss stops sharply. “Why is my hair in pigtails?”  
  
“Because pigtails are cute as hell and Ruby and Blake's hair are too short for pigtails.”  
  
“Pigtails are juvenile, I cannot believe this. You have to delete this photo, I can't have photographic evidence that I ever wore pigtails.” Weiss sounds the most waspish she has all night, all over pigtails. Yang snatches her scroll back before anything can happen to her picture.  
  
“Don't hate on pigtails, side-ponytail girl. I rocked pigtails for most of my life and I will knock you on your ass if you say another word about them.” Weiss glowers but Yang doesn't back down.  
With a snort, Weiss gives up and looks at her empty bed frame. “Whatever, but where am I supposed to be sleeping tonight?”  
  
Flopping down onto the mattress, Yang lays down beside Blake. “Just sleep on the floor with us, like you were. Don't be a priss.”  
  
She sighs long-sufferingly, but Weiss gets in on Ruby's other side after shutting off the lights. They shut their eyes, ready to finally sleep.  
  
Yang wakes mostly due to a sudden change of weight on her side and opens her eyes to see a full-sized Blake sitting up and staring wide eyed around the room. Before Yang can say anything, Blake anxiously whispers, “Yang?”  
  
“You're okay,” Yang cuts of with a yawn, but sits up glancing at the rest of her team. Weiss is fast asleep and Ruby is still six.  
  
“Yang? What happened?” Blake struggles to get up, but Yang grabs her by the arm and pulls her back down to lay down beside her again.  
  
“You've been six years old for a couple days,” she answers honestly. “You don't remember then?”  
  
“I, no?” Blake gasps and Yang reaches over to where she'd left her scroll and turns it on so Yang can see her partner's face. Blake's panicking and she reaches to take her hand. “Yang, I don't… It is all foggy.”  
  
“Your memory? Same with Weiss, I think. Are you okay? Need me to get a medic?”  
  
Blake's eyes dart in the dim light but she shakes her head, “I don't… Am I okay?”  
  
Yang is starting to get scared, she releases Blake to sit up and Blake sits up immediately herself and hunches over face in her knees. “Blake, I'm here. I'm going to wake up Weiss and have her call a medic, unless you tell me 'no,' okay? Do you need a medic?”  
  
“No! Don't, please don't. I'm just. Really… I don't know. Distant? Confused? But I'm okay,” but Yang isn't convinced.  
  
“Can I touch you?” Blake blinks before nodding and Yang pulls Blake onto her lap. Unsure of what to do next, Yang hands Blake her scroll, pulling up one of her mindless, time-wasting games up that she sometimes plays during a particularly painful lecture. “Here play this.” Blake nods and takes the game, playing with unblinking eyes. She's not sure if she is doing it right, mostly going off of her own instinct, but Blake is focusing on the game and seems to be calming down, which is good.  
  
Blake plays a couple round until she finally puts the scroll down. “Sorry… thanks. I don't know what came over me.”  
  
“Sounded like an anxiety attack or something, to me,” Yang realizes. Ruby has them all the time. “It is fine. Need anything?”  
  
“I – no.” Blake shakes her head. The scroll goes dark from inactivity and Yang turns it back on again. “Just, what happened? I think you sneezed? On me, us.”  
  
“Pretty much it. Youth Dust, it turned you three into six year olds.” Yang stops and looks at Blake as she yawns. She'll leave the rest for the morning, when she explains everything more thoroughly to Weiss as well, but there are somethings too important to leave until morning. “Blake, I'm sorry about all the puns and jokes about you being a Faunus.”  
  
Blake flushes, “No, its fine. You don't mean any harm, don't worry about it.” Yang frowns.  
  
“Of course I'm going to worry about it. You were really upset and you deserved to be, still do. I was being an ass with the laser pointer and everything and you shouldn't have to settle for anything less than everyone treating you any less than what you deserve.” Blake shrugs her shoulders. “Don't let me or anyone on this team treat you in a way that makes you feel bad or feel like you can't expect any better from us. Especially me.”  
  
“I – okay. I dunno what happened exactly, but thanks. I'd appreciate it if just stopped with the jokes.”  
  
“Anything you need, Blake, for you to feel safe. I'm sorry. I'm going to do better, I already promised you that, but I'm tell you again because you don't remember. Just… Tell me if I mess up and I'll fix it. I'm not always the most... considerate person, but I never want you to have to tolerate anything less than me or anyone else supporting you.”  
  
“I don't remember… But I do? Its so weird,” Blake rubs her eyes and the scroll turns off again. This time Yang leaves it off and drops it to the side.  
  
“We'll talk more in the morning alright? But I think you need to sleep now.”  
  
Yang lays back and just as Blake follows her, they are sitting back up as the weight shifts on the mattress and Ruby returns to herself as well. They've all gotten out of this safely and finally the last of Yang's fears dissipate.  
  
Unlike the other two, Ruby only turns over in her sleep and doesn't wake. Yang gives her sister a nudge, just to make sure.  
  
“Five more minutes Yang,” Ruby whines as she rolls over again and presses her face into the pillow and pulls the blankets up and over her head. Blake breathes a sleepy laugh and Yang grins. Everyone's going to be alright and after Blake lays back, Yang follows suit. Four grown girls squashed into two small mattresses on the floor and it is pretty crammed. Limbs overlap and she feels Ruby's sweaty fingers on her stomach and Blake's cold feet on her thigh. Weiss is slowly hogging all of the blankets, leaving Yang with none. Its uncomfortable but perfect, because they are there together.  
  
In the morning, Nora will burst through their door and be disappointed that no one will be playing _Pirate Bones & The Mighty with Seven Heads_ with her. Yang will have to face disciplinary action for this whole incident with Goodwitch and she'll have to fix the door before she has to face even more. She'll have to have serious heart to hearts with her team to deal with the aftermath. But, Yang'll get to go on a date with Coco and she's got her team back, fully formed and safe and they'll be closer than ever after.  
  
Yang shuts her eyes, ready to finally sleep uninterrupted. The whole mess isn't quite over with but the worst is over, she thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (If I spend any amount of time with a child, they inevitably ask me why boobs are so big w h yyyyy)
> 
> Ahh, the first part is done! Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, and/or bookmarked this~ The sequel, tentatively titled "If the moon should crumble," is currently in the works. I feel like it is abundantly obvious what is going to happen in the sequel, I'm probably as subtle as a bull in a china shop. It might be a while before I get it out but like it really depends.
> 
> If for whatever reason you don't wanna leave a review on Ao3 but you still have something to say to me, I've got anon on my tumblr account: merrygloom.
> 
> Seriously, thanks again to everyone.


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